Indonesia president denies corruption to parliament

Indonesian's president Abdurrahman Wahid has appeared before parliament to deny allegations of corruption.

He also questioned the constitutionality of moves to remove him from office.

In a prepared statement he said he had not taken "one cent".

Many lawmakers say Abdurrahman Wahid's explanation of his alleged role in two corruption scandals will not deter them from pursuing impeachment proceedings.

In February parliament issued a memorandum censuring him over the two scandals. Since then he has denied any wrongdoing.

Many analysts say parliament is almost certain to continue its campaign against Abdurrahman Wahid, despite his address, which was laced with opinions from legal experts and passages from the Koran.

If ousted he would probably be replaced by his Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Pramono Anung, the deputy secretary-general of her party, says legislators will not only look at the contents of Abdurrahman Wahid's speech, but also at the record of his 17-month, crisis-ridden administration.

Parliament has about a month to decide what to do next.

If legislators formally reject the contents of his speech, they can issue a second censure. This would oblige him to appear before parliament again. If they then chose to reject his next explanation, they can open impeachment proceedings.