INDONESIA: Security is tight in Jakarta as parliament prepares for a bank bailout inquiry

Record ID: 560464

  • Title: INDONESIA: Security is tight in Jakarta as parliament prepares for a bank bailout inquiry
  • Date: 3rd March 2010
  • Summary: SUWARNA READS A NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER SELLERS AHMAD JINGGILI READS A NEWSPAPER
  • Embargoed: 18th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Finance,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABAUHGKSD0987JW1EJDUFCFD3E
  • Story Text: Security personnel and barbed wire were errected at the Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday (March 2) as a Century Bank inquiry committee was set to hand down recommendations to parliament on the bailout of the bank.
    Protesters from both anti and pro Indonesia president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono camps were expected to gather .
    A poll conducted by local media showed that around 50 percent of respondents, including people who have voted for the Democrat Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) in last year's election, said that the decision to bail out Bank Century was a mistake.
    About 35 percent agreed with the bailout. The Democrat Party and PKB had previously said that the bailout decision followed procedures.
    Most Indonesians hope the parliament will uncover the case and commit to public transparency.
    "As an ordinary citizen we only hope that whatever will be recommended by the inquiry committee, the result should be open to the public so people will know where the funds have gone, we have been suffering for a long time, so we hope the case will be uncovered," said Jakarta resident Wayan Suwarna.
    Many thought thought the case was not purely crime and bank-related but actually stemmed from political interests.
    "I think the Bank Century case is a political issue, it will be easy if it is a criminal case, but because it is not (criminal case), it will take a long time to disclose," a resident, Ahmad Jinggili said.
    The positions of both Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Indrawati appeared to be strengthened further after the President said on Monday (March 1) he took responsibility for the decision to bail out Bank Century in 2008
    "There is no legal case, very little legal case, there's as far as Attorney General Office is concerned, as far as Anti Corruption Commission is concerned, as far as police are concerned none of them have said that there was an illegal deeds. That was worth investigating and on the political front, the likelihood of impeachment is very small. So this is a politicized event and I do believe it is lingering but will eventually die-down simply because parliament does not have a strong case," Fauzi Ichsan, an analyst economy on government relations at Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia told Reuters in an interview.
    The bailout case has not made a large impact on global markets, but worries persist over the fate of the two reformers, who critics say should be made responsible for the U.S. 717.7 million rescue of the bank which has since evolved into Bank Mutiara.
    "We don't believe that Vice President and Financial Minister will resign but the worst scenario will be a weak relationship between government and parliament especially between Bank Indonesia and minister of finance on one hand and parliament on the other hand," Ichsan said.
    The controversial inquiry into the bank bailout has been depicted as the latest battleground in a war between reformers and non-reformers opposed to tackling graft and overhauling the civil service, police and judiciary.
    Impeachment of Boediono would be near impossible given the number of seats in parliament controlled by Yudhoyono's Democrat Party and his allies, while only the president can decide to remove a minister.
    Parliament is likely to vote on the decision on Wednesday (March 3).
    ENDS.
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