New VP announced as Wahid packs his bags

Haz helped kill Megawati's presidential bid in 1999

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- After hours of political infighting, Indonesia's national assembly has elected conservative Muslim politician Hamzah Haz as the country's new vice president.

Haz is the head of the Muslim-oriented United Development Party, and fills the post vacated by Megawati Sukarnoputri when she became head of state.

The unprecedented political unity that saw Indonesian legislators dump president Abdurrahman Wahid two days ago in favor of Megawati almost collapsed as politicians jockeyed for cabinet posts in the new government.

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.

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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.

Instability

The failure to fill the vice presidency as scheduled underscored the instability of the unlikely alliance that ousted former leader Abdurrahman 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.

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.

Wahid prepares to leave

However the first big challenge confronting Megawati has seemingly been met, with her ousted predecessor preparing to leave the presidential palace.

Wahid, who has so far refused to acknowledge he has been sacked, will leave the palace to seek medical advice in the U.S.

Wahid's brother and former chief doctor, Umar Wahid, said Wednesday the ousted president would leave "as soon as possible".

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

Wahid had dismissed his ousting this week by the top legislative assembly as illegal.

Medical check-up

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

Palace sources told CNN the mood inside the presidential palace was somber and conciliatory, with Wahid apparently resigned to his fate.

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, and can barely walk.

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.

On Monday the People's Consultative Assembly voted 591-0 to repeal the legislative act that put Wahid in power nearly two years ago.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Hanoi welcomed Megawati's election and offered hope that she would lead the country towards greater stability.

Reuters contributed to this report.