House to hold meeting on officials’ suspensions

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives will hold a meeting on Monday following a suggestion by lawmakers that officials should be suspended in order to make the investigation of the Bank Century bailout run smoother.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie told Antara state news agency on Wednesday the House would issue a regulation on the suspensions once legislators agreed upon the recommendation in next Monday’s plenary meeting.

The House special committee has called for Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to be suspended while waiting for the case to be resolved. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed his objection to the suggestion saying officials would be able to answer questions on the case while they continue working.

He also said there were no laws or articles in the Constitution that require officials to be temporary suspended while being probed by the House inquiry team.

The case centers on the government’s decision to inject Rp 6.76 trillion (US$710 million) into the ailing bank last year. The government has said that the bank might have caused a potential systemic threat had it not issued the bailout fund.

The lawmakers have said that the fund was too large to rescue such a small bank. They have made accusations that people linked to a certain party benefited from the bailout and then used it to finance this year’s election.

— JP