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President Jokowi urged to give political support to KPK in revealing BLBI grand corruption
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Fitra chairman Yenny Sucipto (left) speaks during a press conference at Fitra office in Mampang, South Jakarta. (JP/Safrin La Batu)
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ctivists at the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) on Wednesday urged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to give political support to the anti-graft body, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as it investigates alleged irregularities surrounding the disbursement of Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) to monetarily affected banks almost two decades ago.
During the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the government, via the central bank, provided liquidity support of Rp 144.5 trillion to assist 48 commercial banks cope with massive runs during the monetary crisis. However, 95 percent of that money was eventually embezzled.
"This case is very big, therefore [the KPK] should expect a more intense attack," Fitra deputy chairman Apung Widadi said at a press conference, adding that the attack could come from either politicians or corporations that felt threatened by the KPK’s move to investigate the case.
The KPK on Tuesday named Syafruddin Arsyad Temenggung as the first suspect in the BLBI case, which allegedly caused over Rp 138 trillion (US$10.3 billion) in state losses.
The former chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) is accused of issuing a debt settlement letter to the ailing Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI) owner Sjamsul Nursalim, freeing him from the obligation to pay Rp 3.7 trillion in debt owed to the government, which disbursed the fund under the BLBI scheme.
Syafruddin's decision was based on Megawati Soekarnoputri’s assessment in December 2002, regulating the "release and discharge" letters, which freed recipients of the funds from the obligation to fully pay the debts. (dan)
