Indonesia told not to sever relations with IMF<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's foreign economic
\nadvisers urged the government on Saturday not to sever ties with
\nthe International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite complaints that the
\ninstitution was pressing too hard for reform.<\/p>\n
\"We believe it is already a difficult process to have someone
\nlooking over your shoulder all the time,\" Paul Volcker, former
\nU.S. Federal Reserve chairman, told a press conference after a
\ntwo-hour meeting with Abdurrahman and Indonesia's top economic
\nministers at Bina Graha presidential office.<\/p>\n
\"But for the moment, Indonesia is in that situation where it
\nneeds to nurture confidence ... and cooperation with
\ninternational institutions is an important factor in sustaining
\nand encouraging that kind of confidence,\" added Volcker.<\/p>\n
Volcker earlier said that \"the confidence afforded here in
\nIndonesia and in the international market is so fragile\" and that
\n\"the external environment may be less favorable currently because
\nof conditions in the U.S and elsewhere.\"<\/p>\n
Nobuo Matsunaga, former Japanese ambassador to the United
\nStates, shared Volcker's opinion.<\/p>\n
\"We find today that there is some kind of suspicion or concern
\nabout the economic performance of this country, so in that in
\nthis respect, the relations with the IMF and also with other
\ninternational institutions is extremely crucial and we certainly
\nhope that solutions can be worked out for that\" Matsunaga said.<\/p>\n
\"Japan, as one of the most friendly countries to Indonesia,
\nwould like to strongly encourage Indonesia to establish
\ngood relations with the U.S., the IMF and other countries that
\nare vital to Indonesia's economy,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The suspension of the latest disbursement of IMF's US$400
\nmillion loan over Jakarta's perceived foot-dragging on economic
\nreforms prompted angry comments from chief economics minister
\nRizal Ramli earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Rizal's charge that the Fund was bullying Jakarta and that
\nJakarta knew best what was good for it, raised fears that the
\ngovernment might be prepared to make a total break with the IMF.<\/p>\n
Rizal is scheduled to travel to Washington next week for
\nmeetings with IMF first deputy managing director Stanley Fischer
\nand new U.S. treasury secretary Paul O'Neill.<\/p>\n
Also present on Saturday were Singapore's Senior Minister Lee
\nKuan Yew and Ulrich Cartellieri, a former member of Germany's
\ncentral bank and now a member of the supervisory board of
\nDeutsche Bank.<\/p>\n
Lee said that they had \"a very frank exchange\" with
\nAbdurrahman and Indonesia's top economic ministers, but he did
\nnot comment on the content of talks.<\/p>\n
\"We have expressed our views in our own way, given our
\ndifferent background and different perspectives of the same
\nproblem, but we came to the similar conclusion about the basic
\nissues,\" Lee said.<\/p>",
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