House prepares options post BLBI showdown

Abdul Khalik and Desy Nurhayati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 02/12/2008 11:15 AM  |  Headlines

The House said Monday it had devised three possible actions to take should the government fail to satisfy lawmakers with answers to questions around a huge graft scandal.

The options were agreed to after a series of meetings between lawmakers ahead of a showdown Tuesday between the government and the House of Representatives over the case, legislators said.

The options include implementing the impeachment process against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to which the House has the right.

The President is supposed to attend Tuesday's questioning at the House about the major scandal connected to the misuse of some Rp 702 trillion (US$77 billion) in Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) funds.

Several lawmakers said Monday a second option included a plan to investigate the case if the government's answers didn't satisfy them -- another right of the House.

"If we are really disappointed with the government's answers to our questions, then it is possible for us to use our right to directly express our opinion and continue with the impeachment process," said Dradjat Wibowo, a member of the House's Commission XI on financial affairs.

But if the House was satisfied with the questioning process, it would form a special team to monitor the government's work to recover BLBI funds, he said.

Hari Azhar, deputy head of the House Budgeting Committee, said they could use any of the three options on the table.

"It depends on the government's answers," Hari said.

"For instance, we ask them if they can set a target by August.

"They just have to come up with direct answers to our challenge."

Hari said another issue in need of a direct answer from the government was "the release and discharge policy".

"We just want to know what the government will do to BLBI debtors who were given the release and discharge treatment, but who were later proven to hand over bogus assets to the state," he said.

To prepare for the showdown, Yudhoyono led a limited cabinet meeting until late Monday.

It remained unclear if Yudhoyono would show up or send several cabinet ministers.

Based on his schedule for Tuesday, the President would receive envoys from Thailand and Kuwait from 10 a.m., before meeting with representatives from the ethnic-Chinese community at 2 p.m.

Drajat, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), asked Yudhoyono to prove his want to resolve the BLBI case.

"President Yudhoyono was the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security while Jusuf Kalla was the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare when the decisions of BLBI were made," Drajat said.

"So, it is not true that they have nothing to do with the decisions."

Legal expert Rudy Satrio asked the House not to politicize the issue.

"I propose that lawmakers take the option of establishing a team to monitor what the government will do, instead of using other rights," Rudy said.

"By making this move, they can concentrate on recovering state assets rather than politicizing the issue," he said.

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