TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
As KPK delves into BLBI, Jokowi says it was not Megawati's fault
Change Size
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (AP/State Palace)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo shrugged off suggestions saying that the ongoing investigation into the 2002 Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) case could implicate former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the chairwoman of his Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
On Tuesday, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced that it had named former Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman Syafruddin Arsyad Temenggung a suspect. Syafruddin, who was appointed Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman in 2002 when Megawati was president, issued a letter for Sjamsul Nursalim, the owner of Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI), freeing him from the obligation to pay Rp 3.7 trillion (US$277.8 million) in BLBI debt.
(Read also: President Jokowi urged to give political support to KPK in revealing BLBI grand corruption)
Syafruddin’s decision was based on Megawati's instruction in December 2002, regulating the “release and discharge” letters, freeing recipients of the funds of the obligation to fully pay the debts.
"It's different. The most important thing is to distinguish what is a policy and what is the implementation," Jokowi said when asked by journalists about the case on Wednesday.
"Presidential decisions, presidential regulations and presidential instructions are all policies, intended to solve problems. What happened at the implementation level is different. You may need to ask the KPK [about the case]," Jokowi added.
Syafruddin is the first official to be named a suspect in the case.
Sjamsul’s BDNI received Rp 28 trillion of the BLBI fund and was obligated to return Rp 4.8 trillion, but Syafruddin decided that the bank should only pay Rp 1.1 trillion. (bbs)
