Economic team 'flirts' with unscrupulous tycoons: Kwik<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former chief economics minister Kwik Kian Gie
\nwarned here on Friday that there were indications that the
\neconomic team in the new Cabinet had started \"flirting\" with the
\ncountry's \"unscrupulous\" tycoons.<\/p>\n
\"There are signs that the government (new economic team) is
\nstarting to flirt with the tycoons,\" he said during a discussion
\ngathering on the economy and global capitalism, which was also
\nparticipated in by former finance minister Fuad Bawazier.<\/p>\n
Kwik pointed out that the recent meetings between the new
\neconomics ministers and the \"unscrupulous\" tycoons could lead to
\ncertain concessions being made.<\/p>\n
He said that while making concessions was normal, there should
\nbe no concessions in respect of the legal consequences of the
\nbanking crimes committed by the tycoons.<\/p>\n
The new economic team led by Coordinating Minister for
\nEconomic Affairs Rizal Ramli met recently with the tycoons, who
\nowe massive debts to the government.<\/p>\n
The term \"unscrupulous tycoons\" refers to the former banking
\ntycoons who violated the country's bank legal lending limits and
\nwho have been reluctant to repay the debts owed by the banks
\nwhich they used to own.<\/p>\n
The government injected massive liquidity support between 1998
\nand 1999 to bail out these banks when confidence in the industry
\nplunged to its lowest ebb.<\/p>\n
The tycoons are mostly well-connected businessmen who are now
\naccused of having been rent-seekers during the 32-year
\nauthoritarian rule of former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Kwik has always been a strong critic of these allegedly
\nunscrupulous tycoons.<\/p>\n
Kwik, who is a senior member of the country's largest party,
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, became the chief
\neconomics minister in President Abdurrahman Wahid's
\nadministration in November 1999, but was ousted in August's major
\nCabinet reshuffle.<\/p>\n
During his last days in office, Kwik surprised the business
\nand financial community here when he vowed to revise an earlier
\nagreement made between the tycoons and the previous
\nadministration of president B.J. Habibie in 1999 to settle the
\nobligations owed by their banks to the government.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, called the Master of Settlement and
\nAcquisition Agreement (MSAA), the tycoons pledged some assets to
\nrepay their debts. However, they were to be absolved from
\nfurther liable for any remaining debts if the assets turned out
\nto be worth less than initially valued when they were finally
\nsold off.<\/p>\n
Kwik was clearly annoyed by this agreement.<\/p>\n
The problem over the MSAA agreement is to be resolved by a
\njoint team from the government and the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Among of the conglomerates which signed the MSAA agreement
\nwere the giant Salim Group which formerly owned the publicly
\nlisted Bank Central Asia (BCA).<\/p>\n
Kwik said that he and former finance minister Bambang Sudibyo
\nwere ejected from the Cabinet because they were seen as a threat
\nto the tycoons.<\/p>\n
Kwik also lambasted the government for taking no legal action
\nso far against the tycoons whose (alleged) crimes had been
\nuncovered by the previous economic team.<\/p>\n
\"There has been no action taken so far either by the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office or the Police. It's still a big zero,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kwik added that if the government allowed the bad
\nconglomerates to escape the consequences of their past
\nwrongdoing, it would give them a chance to once again sideline
\nthe \"clean\" businesses which have started to take over the
\ncountry's economic machine.<\/p>\n
\"It's sad to see that so many of us are still ignorant about
\nthe tricks used by the small number of bad conglomerates,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Kwik urged the government not to allow the conglomerates'
\ntycoon owners to buy back the companies they had already pledged
\nin repayment of their debts to the government.<\/p>\n
He said they should have had to repay the debt in cash in the
\nfirst place if they had enough cash.<\/p>\n
Junior Minister for the Restructuring of the National Economy
\nCacuk Sudarijanto said this week that the economics ministers
\nwere considering allowing the tycoons to buy back their former
\ncompanies.(rei)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economic-team-flirts-with-unscrupulous-tycoons-kwik-1447893297",
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