Attorney General rejects Sjahril's release appeal
Attorney General rejects Sjahril's release appeal
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman rejected on Friday the appeal of Bank Indonesia board of governors to release Sjahril Sabirin from detention.
"The ongoing investigation into Sjahril's case makes it impossible (for his release) at this time," Attorney General's Office spokesman Yushar Yahya told reporters.
The Attorney General's Office detained Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin on Wednesday, two weeks after he was named a suspect in the politically-charged Bank Bali scandal.
Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution, on behalf of the central bank board of governors, appealed on Thursday for Sjahril's release or at least to put him on house arrest only.
Marzuki said the detention was required because his office planned to seize documents at the central bank to look for evidence.
Anwar, who has been assigned to temporarily lead Bank Indonesia, confirmed that the Attorney General's Office rejected the plea to release Sjahril from detention.
"But they didn't give a reason," he told reporters, after visiting Sjahril along with other deputy governors Aulia Pohan, Achjar Iljas and Dono Iskandar.
Sjahril's lawyers vowed that they would continue efforts to get him released.
"We'll think of other ways, including the filing of a pretrial lawsuit," he told journalists before leaving the Attorney General's Office.
The Bank Bali scandal, which was uncovered last year, involves an illegal transfer of some US$80 million from the bank to a private firm linked to the then ruling Golkar Party.
Sjahril has denied any involvement, and said that the move to name him a suspect and his subsequent detention are merely parts of a political ploy by President Abdurrahman Wahid to oust him from the central bank.
Under the new law on the independency of Bank Indonesia, members of the central bank board of governors can't be dismissed by the government.
Earlier in the day, Anwar said that Bank Indonesia will continue to implement measures agreed with the International Monetary Fund despite the detention of its governor.
"We already have a clear program. We will continue to implement what has been agreed," Anwar told reporters.
He also said that he had assured the visiting IMF Asia Pacific deputy director Anoop Singh that the central bank was committed to implementing effective monetary measures.
Anwar also dismissed rumors that certain officials at the central bank would sabotage the government's economic reform program.
"Over my dead body. I will not let that happen. Such a move is a subversion," he said. "We will implement the economic reform program and will work closely with the government," he added.
Anwar said that Singh had expressed concern over the detention of Sjahril.
"The IMF (Singh) has expressed sympathy for what has happened to Sjahril," he said.
Several senior politicians including House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais have lambasted the government for the detention of Sjahril.
Amien said on Thursday that the detention, coming after a relentless government campaign to unseat Sjahril, amounted to political intervention in the affairs of the central bank.
Meanwhile, Akbar said on Friday after a meeting with Singh that the IMF opined that the detention of Sjahril would affect efforts to rebuild the country's crisis-hit economy.
"The detention of Sjahril according to the IMF will affect the steps toward economic recovery," Akbar said.
However, Singh declined to comment on the detention of Sjahril.
Akbar said that the House wanted the government to expedite the investigation of the case, and to immediately release Sjahril once the Attorney General's Office had obtained the related information from him.
"With such measures the impact on the economy would be minimized," he said.
The rupiah closed higher on Wednesday at Rp 8,685 per U.S. dollar after weakening over the past two days. Dealers said that state-owned banks were selling their dollars ahead of the weekend. (rei/bby)