Most ministers oppose debt extension plan, says Kwik<\/p>\n
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
State Minister of National Development Planning, Kwik Kian Gie
\nconfirmed suspicions on Thursday that Cabinet members were
\nseriously divided over a controversial debt extension plan,
\nsaying most members had rejected the plan.<\/p>\n
Calling it the \"silent majority\" , Kwik said most ministers
\nhad rejected the plan but lacked the technical understanding to
\nconvincingly argue against it.<\/p>\n
\"Many ministers agree with me just by using their logic,\" Kwik
\ntold reporters, after attending a Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
His claim served as another blow for a plan to extend the debt
\npayment period for bad debtors to 10 years from four years.<\/p>\n
The debtors are former bankers, on whose banks billions of
\nU.S. dollars were spent to bail them out in the wake of the 1997
\nfinancial crisis.<\/p>\n
It turned out that most of the state-sponsored bailout funds
\nhad been illegally abused.<\/p>\n
To escape prosecution, the former bankers agreed to a four-
\nyear shareholder settlement program.<\/p>\n
Extending it to 10 years now, critics said, might tempt
\ndebtors to skip payment altogether, when law enforcement should
\nhave been the solution.<\/p>\n
They added the plan smacked of injustice, at a time when the
\npoor must shoulder the burden of recent fuel price hikes.<\/p>\n
Backers of the plan argued that debtors were unable to pay
\nover the last three years because of unfavorable business
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), which
\ninitiated the plan, warned that without the extension, there
\nmight be no payment at all.<\/p>\n
\"The heated debate centers on whether it's true that the debt
\nextension plan will ensure that the debtors will pay,\" Kwik said.<\/p>\n
He said all arguments had been collected and forwarded to an
\ninterministerial team that has been assigned to review the plan.<\/p>\n
The team includes officials from the Coordinating Ministry for
\nPolitical and Security Affairs, which indicates the plan carries
\nsome security risks.<\/p>\n
Sources, quoting intelligence reports, have warned of social
\nuprising if the plan, deemed insensitive to the plight of the
\npoor, goes ahead.<\/p>\n
The plan may also prove politically risky as top politicians
\nhave used it to criticize the country's six-month-old
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
Among them is Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, who political
\nanalysts said might pose a threat to President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri at the 2004 general election.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/most-ministers-oppose-debt-extension-plan-says-kwik-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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