NGOs intensify campaign against R&D policy<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said on
\nThursday that it had collected thousands of signatures supporting
\ncalls for the government to annul an earlier decision to drop
\ncharges against former bank owners.<\/p>\n
Teten Masduki of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), which
\nis leading the coalition, said they would also pay a visit next
\nweek to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), the
\nAttorney General's Office and the Financial Sector Policy
\nCommittee (FSPC) to urge these institutions to immediately take
\nlegal action against the errant bankers.<\/p>\n
\"We have collected thousands of signatures,\" he told a
\nconference, but declined to specify the exact number.<\/p>\n
The ICW has launched a campaign to reject the government's
\ncontroversial \"release and discharge\" (R&D) policy over the past
\ncouple of weeks.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a decree late last
\nyear, which would allow former bank owners to walk away from
\nviolating banking regulations in the past as long as they
\nremained cooperative in settling their huge amount of debts to
\nthe state.<\/p>\n
Bankers that were not cooperative would face legal sanctions.<\/p>\n
The above institutions are in charge of carrying out the
\npresidential decree.<\/p>\n
But the policy is seen as going against the public's sense of
\njustice.<\/p>\n
The ex-bank owners have breached the legal lending limit
\nruling by channeling most of the banks' funds to affiliated
\nbusiness groups. This practice is seen as a major factor in
\ntriggering the 1997 financial crisis, which prompted the
\ngovernment to disburse billions of dollars to bail out the banks.
\nThe huge bank bailout cost is being shouldered by taxpayers.<\/p>\n
Many of the former bank owners have misused most of the Rp
\n144.5 trillion worth of funds channeled by the government to help
\ntheir banks stay afloat. And many of the indebted bank owners
\nhave been reluctant to pay back the government's money. For four
\nyears, IBRA, which is mandated to collect the money, has not been
\nable to fully recover the funds.<\/p>\n
In a bid to persuade the debtors to quickly make repayments,
\nthe government issued the controversial R&D policy, which
\nreleases the ex-bankers from past banking crimes as long as they
\ncooperate in settling their debts.<\/p>\n
\"The R&D policy is grossly unfair,\" Teten said.<\/p>\n
Abdul Fickar Hajar, a member of the coalition, said that the
\nerrant bankers had to be punished for their crimes even if they
\ndid repay their debts to the state.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ngos-intensify-campaign-against-rd-policy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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