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)