JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Abdurrahman Wahid, desperately trying to hold on to power, installed a new top security minister Saturday as tension grew over the national police chief's refusal to step down.
Highlighting Wahid's growing friction with his estranged deputy, Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri snubbed the swearing-in ceremony of the minister, an occasion she would normally be expected to attend.
Wahid reshuffled his Cabinet on Friday in what many analysts see as part of the Muslim cleric's last-ditch effort to avoid being ousted in August over his alleged involvement in two corruption scandals and his unruly 19 months in power.
He also requested the resignation of national police chief Gen. Suroyo Bimantoro, but the official has refused to step down, saying parliament has to endorse the order first.
