Wahid leaves Indonesia

Wahid says he fears Indonesia will return to authoritarian rule under Megawati

By staff and wire reports

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A chapter of Indonesia's political history ended when ousted president Abdurrahman Wahid said goodbye to his supporters and left the country for the U.S. on Thursday.

More than 2,000 supporters gathered outside the presidential palace in a rowdy and almost festive rally to send off Wahid, who Monday was officially sacked as president and replaced by his deputy Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Under tight security, Wahid's loyalists waved banners using his nickname, 'Gus Dur, I love you', and shouting 'bon voyage' to the Muslim cleric as his motorcade made its way to the airport.

Dressed in shorts and slippers Wahid had to undergo an extensive medical examination before he left the palace to ensure he was fit for travel.

He will head via Singapore to the U.S. where he will receive medical attention.

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In his final interview before leaving the palace, Wahid said he had turned down an offer from Megawati to see him off at the airport, saying her ascension to power was illegal.

Wahid said he will be one of the few voices for democracy in Megawati's Indonesia, which he said will be ruled by the army and the forces of corruption.

VP appointed

His departure solves one of the more immediate challenges presented to his successor.

Her next task is to name a cabinet to help guide Indonesia out of the economic doldrums, the shape of which may be influenced by Thursday's appointment of a new vice-president.

Hamzah Haz, the head of the Muslim-oriented United Development Party, won the vote among lawmakers, filling the position vacated by Megawati.

But the lengthy bickering and political infighting surrounding his election suggests that the political environment under Megawati's leadership is far from stable.

The top assembly failed on Wednesday to vote for a new vice president, requiring the assembly to reconvene Thursday for a final ballot.

Haz defeated parliament speaker and Golkar party chief Akbar Tandjung for the vice presidency.

Haz, 61, was a former minister in Wahid's first cabinet in October 1999. He later resigned from the government following allegations of involvement in corruption.

The new vice president also helped kill Megawati's presidential bid in 1999 because he said women were unfit to lead the world's largest Muslim nation.

Over the past year, his party formed a loose coalition with other groups -- including Golkar former dictator Suharto and the armed forces -- backing Megawati and seeking Wahid's impeachment.

Political instability

The failure to fill the vice presidency as scheduled underscored the instability of the unlikely alliance that ousted Wahid for incompetence 21 months into a five-year term.

It sent a warning that Megawati's coalition could become as fractious as Wahid's.

Megawati's coalition government could become as fractious as her predecessor’s

Underscoring the job ahead, the Jakarta Post newspaper said in an editorial on Wednesday that what Indonesia probably needed was not Megawati as leader, but a "mega-president."

Local media quoted officials from the Muslim-oriented United Development Party (PPP) as saying they would refuse to allow its members to join Megawati's government if a rival party candidate became vice president.

PPP is the third largest party in parliament, while Golkar is the second largest party after Megawati's Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle.

While Megawati has admitted she expects the road ahead to be difficult, the future for her predecessor remains uncertain.

Medical check-up

Wahid's departure to the U.S. for medical check-ups follows months of stress relating to his eventual impeachment.

Wahid is almost blind, and as a result of strokes can barely walk. It is uncertain when, or even if, he will return to Indonesia.

"In recent weeks he has had a lot of burdens. For that reason, we feel that he needs a check-up and preventive action," his brother and former doctor Umar Wahid said, adding his brother would go to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Yusuf Misbach, another of Wahid's doctors, said the former president had been examined over the past few days "considering his physical, emotional, thought burden which he faced."

"The evaluation shows a risk increase of a recurrence of the diseases he suffered before he became president," he said.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.