BLBI inquiry plan doubted

Abdul Khalik ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 03/17/2008 12:29 PM  |  National

The seriousness and level of enthusiasm with which the House of Representatives has so far questioned the embezzlement of BLBI funds has come in to question.

The high profile case surrounding stolen Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) funds has most recently led 55 lawmakers to sign a petition to push for a thorough investigation by the government, but Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki said he is doubtful the petition will be effective.

Trillions of rupiah of stolen state assets are in question, but Teten said the reason for his skepticism around the petition was many lawmakers had been implicated in the BLBI case.

"If the lawmakers really want to investigate the cases then they should focus on whether all debtors have really submitted sufficient assets comparable with their debts."

So far, only 27 percent of the embezzled funds had been recovered.

University of Indonesia law expert Satya Arinanto also urged the House to properly investigate all players in the BLBI case, including the Soeharto regime and the current administration.

"The cases can't be considered to be only related to the current administration because the decision to discharge the debtors was taken by then-President Megawati and the cases began in Soeharto's era," he said.

Satya said if all involved administrations and players were taken into account, case investigations would find balance and would avoid looking like a move to impeach President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

A group of 55 lawmakers filed an official petition on Thursday for the House to investigate the government's failure to recover BLBI money.

But the House needs a plenary session decision to be able to formally begin investigations.

Both Teten and Satya said the recent arrest of state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan and businesswoman Artalita Suryani by the Corruption Eradication Commission for alleged bribery should act as a trigger for serious investigations by the House.

"We hope big factions at the House will support the inquiry in the plenary session," Teten said.

Golkar lawmaker Hari Azhar Azis said he was positive the petition would be supported by a larger number of lawmakers when it was discussed in the plenary session.

"Just like when the House decided on the BLBI interpellation last month, I think the petition will be supported by more and more lawmakers," Hari said.like a snowball. The more it rolls, the bigger it gets."

Hari said he was not aware if any large parties, including Golkar, had officially prohibited their members from signing the petition.

The government disbursed Rp 144.5 trillion (US$15.4 billion) to help 14 ailing banks stay afloat during the 1997-1998 Asian monetary crisis through BLBI funds.

Many observers have said their main concern surrounding the missing funds is the state has to pay Rp 65 trillion, or around a third of the state budget, each year to pay the interest against stolen money.

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