Aburizal asks public not to prejudge Mandiri case

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

With prosecutors stepping up their investigation into a massive corruption scandal involving up to Rp 12 trillion (US$1.3 billion) worth of bank loans and 33 companies, the country's senior economics minister asked the public not rush to pass judgment based on the preliminary results of the investigation.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said that procedural irregularities by state-owned Bank Mandiri's management when channeling the loans could not be interpreted as corruption.

"Irregularities don't necessarily mean corruption. It's an old concept and state officials should change that. The important thing is that we should be looking at the end results," he said at the State Palace on Thursday.

A day earlier, Bank Mandiri President Director E.C.W. Neloe met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla. No official statement was made in connection with the case after the meeting.

But Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh has said that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) will summon Neloe for questioning next week.

On Thursday, AGO prosecutors questioned Bank Mandiri's vice president, I Wayan Pugeg, as a witness in the case. This was his second round of questioning, but he has not been charged as a suspect so far.

Investigators have said that the first stage of the investigation will focus on alleged irregularities in the disbursement of more than Rp 1 trillion in loans to four companies, namely, TV broadcaster PT Lativi Media Karya, PT Cipta Graha Nusantara/Tahta Medan (CGN/TM), PT Siak Zamrud Pusaka and PT Arutmin.

Antara reported that the Batam Prosecutor's Office announced it had arrested on Thursday another suspect in the case, with the initials NT, in Batam. The man is believed to be the president director of Siak Zamrud.

According to Aburizal, losses during the extending of loans by banks were common and should not be seen as an obstacle to extending loans to the corporate sector.

"A modern bank should not merely think about procedures. If lending is profitable, procedures should come last. There will always be losses in the banking business," he said, denying that his comments were intended to defend Bank Mandiri's management.

Before becoming a minister, Aburizal controlled his family business, the Bakrie Group. A close ally of Kalla's, who is a shareholder of the Bukaka Group, Aburizal was also the chairman of the powerful Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Last year's audited financial accounts of publicly listed company PT Bakrie & Brothers -- Aburizal's flagship infrastructure development firm -- disclosed that its telecommunication subsidiary, PT Bakrie Telecom, has a long-term debt worth Rp 548.2 billion with Bank Mandiri.

The original loan, which was obtained in April 2003, was restructured in September 2004, with the size of the debt being cut to $516.7 billion after Bank Mandiri agreed to a "haircut".