How the council's duties will be related to those of the economic ministers is uncertain. In fact, many of Wahid's portfolios seem vague or likely to overlap with one another. So was the market. Both the stock exchange index and the rupiah rate remained fairly flat after the cabinet was announced, reflecting concerns that Wahid had subsumed economic direction to political interest. If national unity is under threat, the economy is under as much or even greater pressure.
Inflation is currently quiet, but so is economic expansion.
Abdurrahman Wahid a.k.a. Became chairman of NU in 1984. Folksy, witty, charmingly direct, excellent public speaker. Prefers to go barefoot or in slippers as shoes give him corns, he says. Respected by majority, defender of minorities.