Government asked for more info on BLBI

Lilian Budianto and Desy Nurhayati ,  The Jakarta Post   |  Wed, 03/26/2008 12:37 PM  |  National

The House of Representatives decided Tuesday to schedule a plenary on April 1 for further explanations by the President's on investigations into the alleged embezzlement of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) funds.

House members told a plenary session the government had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation about the progress of the 10-year-old investigation.

National Awakening Party (PAN) legislator Abdullah Azwar Anas said the government did not have clear plans to force BLBI debtors to return the state money nor the courage to prosecute those who escaped responsibility.

"We want to know if the government has come up with something to force the debtors to pay back the money," he said. "It seems to me the current government has been hiding behind the policy of the previous government and lacked commitment to investigating the case thoroughly."

National Mandate Party lawmaker Dradjad Wibowo said although the government had announced the names of bad debtors and the Finance Ministry's audit results, it had failed to produce concrete steps to follow up the findings.

"The House expected to see the imprisonment of bad debtors and the repayment of their debts after the Attorney-General's Office investigation," he said.

The office dropped the BLBI cases involving Sjamsul Nursalim and Anthony Salim on Feb. 29 and only two days later, the Corruption Eradication Commission arrested the prosecutor leading the investigation for allegedly receiving bribes.

Dradjad said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had better attended the next plenary after skipping the first one.

State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, however, dismissed the request, saying the President would again assign his aides to face the House. The ministers attending include Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono, Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Affairs Widodo AS, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji and National Police chief Gen. Sutanto.

Hatta, who is also a PAN politician, said not all House members were disappointed with the government's explanation.

Tjahyo Kumolo of the opposition political group, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, told the plenary he appreciated the government's efforts to settle the BLBI case.

"It's natural the government's explanation is going to have pros and cons. However, I would appreciate if fellow lawmakers demand further investigation. We should have another consultation forum with the government on the matter," he said.

House Speaker Agung Laksono of Golkar Party told the plenary the President had the right to send his representatives to the next session.

Dozens of House members, including Abdullah and Dradjad, have proposed the House launch an inquiry into the BLBI cases and force the government to re-open the investigation.

"If the next plenary is not fruitful, we can still exercise our right to an inquiry so the President is forced to settle the BLBI case," he said.

The government disbursed a total of Rp 640.9 trillion to save the banking system from collapsing during the 1997-1998 Asian economic crisis. The money included Rp 144.5 trillion for the BLBI program, which was disbursed to 48 ailing banks to keep them afloat in the wake of massive withdrawal of foreign capital from Indonesia.

However, many debtors allegedly abused the move by embezzling the funds.

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