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Jiwasraya victims tour financial authorities' offices demanding restitution
The protest indicates fresh efforts from victims to get a resolution to the insurance scandal.
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Pedestrians walk in front of the Jiwasraya Building, Jakarta on Jan. 15. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Ida Tumota, 60, had only one goal when she walked in the Finance Ministry on Thursday: to get her money back.
The single mother had lost about Rp 500 million (US$36,500) of money she had invested in the state-owned insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya for her pension fund and her children’s education.
“The government has defrauded me. I feel abused -- through my time, efforts, money and my future that I have invested,” Ida said in a quivering voice.
Ida was among around 50 people – some of whom lost billions of rupiah per person – that demonstrated inside the Finance Ministry building demanding their money back, indicating fresh efforts from victims to get a resolution to the insurance scandal.
Read also: Jiwasraya in talks with foreign, domestic investors over selling Jiwasraya Putra
They continued to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) office in front of the ministry’s main building in Central Jakarta and were still meeting with the agency’s officials at the time of writing.
Jiwasraya met with trouble when it was unable to pay holders of policies worth about Rp 16 trillion that fell due in December, prompting the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to launch a corruption investigation.
At the Finance Ministry, protesters demanded to speak directly to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara or the ministry’s director generals as they delivered an official letter to the minister.
Finance Ministry program and administration head Darmawan said that it would forward the letter to the officials but said that neither the minister nor her deputy were available to meet the group.
“Sorry sir,” he said to one of the protesters. “If you will allow me, we will make sure to convey the message.”
Both parties agreed to meet again at Darmawan’s arrangement and continued to march to the OJK office.
