Bank Bali staff support Rudy

Bank Bali staff support Rudy

JAKARTA (JP): Amid the public furor over the Bank Bali
scandal, most of the bank's employees are wearing purple ribbons
on their name tags as an expression of support and solidarity for
former executive director, Rudy Ramli.

The action, which was started by a few employees earlier this
month, was later followed by others -- from managers down to the
security guards, an employee at Bank Bali's headquarters said on
Tuesday.

"Although we do not know Rudy Ramli personally, we feel that
he ran this bank fairly well and took good care of the
employees," he said, stressing that most believed Rudy to be
innocent in the scandal.

The employees chose the color purple because in ancient Rome
it was the sign of deep concern.

Rudy was replaced following a decision by the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to allow London-based Standard
Chartered Bank to take care of Bank Bali's management after the
banking scandal erupted in July.

The scandal, which involves a number of government officials,
has been the subject of daily conversation and local newspaper
headlines.

Some Bank Bali employees interviewed by The Jakarta Post on
Tuesday affirmed their sympathy for Rudy. All those interviewed
preferred anonymity because the bank's new management had issued
a regulation forbidding the employees to talk to the media
regarding the banking scandal.

They said this was contrary to the former management who
always informed the employees of the bank's latest developments.
An employee said Rudy gathered all the employees together at the
end of last year and pledged to maintain the bank's operations
despite the economic crisis.

"'Let this bank be the last ship that sinks in the crisis',"
he quoted Rudy as saying during the gathering. "We really respect
him for his commitment, that's why we continue to support him
despite the scandal," another employee added.

They also said they accompanied Rudy to his car in the
basement of Bank Bali's headquarters on Sept. 9, moments before
Rudy left for the House of Representatives to attend the hearing
with legislators over the scandal.

"We all stopped working and watched the hearing, which was
televised nationwide that day," the employee said, adding that he
could not understand why Rudy was treated like a criminal during
the hearing.

"We will continue to wear the ribbons until the scandal is
clarified," he added. (04)