A political war?

No one can deny that the export loan scam involving Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has done some serious damage, not only to the Indonesian trade and banking industry, but to the country's economy as well.

The scandal, which has been the talk of the town for the past several weeks, involves the issuance of no less than 41 fictitious letters of credit (L/Cs) for a total of Rp 1.7 trillion (US$291.2 million), in a classic case of collusion between banking officers and businesspeople. Police have so far named about a dozen suspects in the crime.

The case naturally threatens to damage the already questionable credibility of the country's import and export procedures by once again throwing the spotlight on the corruption that remains rampant in the country's bureaucracy and business sector. Immediate proof of this damage could be found in the worsened sentiment on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, as reflected in the 0.4 percent fall in the composite index at end of last month.

Quite appropriately, 21 witnesses have so far been summoned for questioning by the police, including 16 BNI employees, two private company executives and three officers from related banks. Police have also confiscated US$238,000 in cash and documents, and ordered 29 bank accounts belonging to companies and individuals allegedly linked to the scam blocked.

Bank Indonesia, which oversees the country's banking industry, has for its part blamed the directors of BNI for failing to act on an internal audit that reported something serious amiss in the bank, long before the scam became public knowledge.

So much for the sinister practices that apparently still thrive in parts of our business environment and banking industry. The question that interests us at this point concerns not so much the practice of corruption and collusion, or even the scale of the crime committed, but rather the delay in bringing the affair to the attention of the public. For if the BNI management was notified of irregular practices months before the public was made aware that something was amiss at the bank, the very fact of this delay could point to yet another problem the country must confront.

It is tempting in this context to refer to observations made last week by Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), to the effect that the scandal -- which was initially thought to be a mere run-of-the-mill affair -- has taken on a political dimension that could lead to a brutal political war ahead of next year's general election. In other words, the scam could be used by one political party to discredit another, with neither side actually bothering to fix the root of the problem itself -- which is corruption.

Although no parties were mentioned, it is obvious from the names of those believed to be involved in the BNI scam that the LIPI researcher was referring to the Golkar Party. At the same time, it may or may not be a coincidence that the public furor over the BNI scam was unleashed at the same time that reports emerged of a suspicious business deal involving Mohammad Rizki Pratama, the son of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

An investigation team set up by the House of Representatives reportedly found irregularities involving the contract giving Mohammad Rizki control of 30 hectares of the 44-hectare Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, which is managed by the State Secretariat. The findings were announced by Effendy Choirie, who is a member of former President Abdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB) and no admirer of Megawati.

Although the President is reported to have asked her son to withdraw from the venture, the issue could benefit the Golkar Party in a possible political war kindled, presumably, by the bloody clash between supporters of the two parties in Buleleng, Bali, last month.

What is cause for concern here is not so much the possibility that the as yet passive enmity could erupt into renewed clashes, but rather that a political war would be likely to end in a political deal or settlement. If that happens, both the BNI scam and the Kemayoran case would most likely be buried.

It is primarily for this reason that Indonesians should welcome the informal talks that have been held in recent days between leaders of these two major parties. In both the BNI and Kemayoran cases, let the law take its due course.