Analyst Lin Che Wei wins in Lippo dispute
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Central Jakarta District Court ruled on Thursday in favor of noted analyst Lin Che Wei in a Rp 103 billion defamation lawsuit filed by a commissioner of publicly listed PT Lippo Bank, Rudy Toha Bachrie.
A panel of judges, presided over by Mohammad Saleh, disallowed Rudy's lawsuit and ordered him to pay Rp 149,000 in legal costs.
According to the judges, the plaintiff lacked clarity and consistency in defining his capacity in the suit.
Rudy had earlier told the court that he had filed the lawsuit against Lin as an individual, not a representative of the board of commissioners of Lippo, nor of one of Bank Lippo's shareholders, PT Agus Toha Corporation (ATC).
However, instead of giving a clear explanation of his position, Saleh said, Rudy gave the impression that he not only stood as an individual, but also represented Lippo and ATC.
Lin told reporters he was very pleased with the court ruling.
"I'm very pleased with the outcome. It will become a landmark case for the enforcement of good corporate governance in Indonesia. It also guarantees the independence of analysts," he said.
Lin added that the verdict would also encourage him and other stock analysts to take a tough and firm stance against any threat to their independence or professionalism.
Meanwhile, Rudy, who was also present at the hearing, declined to comment.
On Feb. 25, Rudy filed a defamation lawsuit against Lin. He demanded Rp 103 billion in compensation for losses incurred by Lin's statement, including damage to the credibility of the board of commissioners and shareholders of the bank.
Lin Che Wei made headlines after his two articles, published in Kompas daily on Feb. 14 and 19, in which he warned the public to be careful when purchasing Lippo stock, saying he suspected share price manipulation by Lippo management.
In his analysis, Lin revealed that Lippo management had systematically pressured down the Lippo stock and squeezed up the price of its assets so as to dilute the majority shareholding of the government, which had a 59 percent stake in the bank. Lin believed that such measures were designed to pave the way for the former owners of the bank -- Mochtar's Riyadi's family, which had a 30 percent share in Lippo -- to regain control over the bank.
Lin also criticized the government for turning a blind eye to the manipulation, in this instance the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam), as the agencies failed to prevent, take any action or impose sanctions on Lippo management for its alleged manipulation.
The government injected some Rp 6 trillion (US$730 million) in bailout funds in 1999 in an effort to save the cash-strapped bank, in exchange for ownership of a 59.26 percent stake in Lippo.