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Golkar backs down on demand for impeachment
The House of Representatives officiated on Tuesday a supervisory team to make sure the Rp 6
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he House of Representatives officiated on Tuesday a supervisory team to make sure the Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) Bank Century bailout case faces due legal process.
After weeks of fierce debate and repeated delays, the team’s inauguration effectively slows down the Golkar Party’s move to impeach Vice President Boediono.
Boediono, the former governor of Bank Indonesia, approved the Century bailout with then Financial Sector Policy Committee (KKSK) chairwoman/Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in 2008.
The formation of the 30-member team is a follow-up on the recent legislative inquiry into the bailout, which concluded that the costly rescue of the ailing bank was unjustified.
Bank Century was renamed Bank Permata (not Bank Mutiara as erroneously mentioned in this paper on Tuesday) after being taken over by the government following the controversial bailout.
Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso of the Golkar Party said each party at the House was proportionally represented in the 30-strong team.
The Democratic Party, holding the most House seats, has eight representatives, Golkar six, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) five, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) three, National Mandate Party (PAN) two, United Development Party (PPP) two, Nation Awakening Party (PKB) two, Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) one and People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) one.
The supervisory team was established amid criticism that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had been moving very slowly in following up on the House decision to push ahead with legal action surrounding the bailout decision.
The government’s indecisiveness prompted vocal lawmakers to pool their resources to initiate the impeachment of Boediono.
More than 100 legislators signed a petition to begin the impeachment process.
However, Priyo urged petitioners on Tuesday to give the team a chance and shelve their plan to commence the impeachment process.
“I appealed to all my colleagues to forget their move for now and see how the team goes,” Priyo said after the meeting.
Priyo is one of the nine lawmakers who initiated the inquiry and the subsequent threat to impeach Boediono.
“Let’s stop for now and give the team and law enforcers a chance [to resolve the problem]” he said.
He added that if the team proved ineffective he would support the resumption of the motion for impeachment.
Under heavy criticism, the KPK has summonsed Boediono and Sri Mulyani for questioning.
Sri Mulyani’s secretary, Mulia P. Nasution, was quoted on Thursday by detik.com saying the minister hoped to meet investigators at her office instead of the KPK.
Vice presidential spokesman Yopie Hidayat said Boediono and the KPK were working to arrange a time and place for the questioning session.
“The Vice President fully supports the KPK plan to settle the Century case legally,” he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono refused to comment on the KPK summons of Boediono and Mulyani.
His spokesman, Julian Aldrin Pasha, said Yudhoyono was aware of the summonses but had chosen to refrain from commenting.
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Correction
Bank Century was renamed Bank Mutiara, not Bank Permata as we wrongly stated in the story titled Golkar backs down on demand for impeachment on this page on Wednesday. We regret the error.
- The Editor
The Jakarta Post, 29 April 2010, page 4
