Bank debts priority for new IBRA chief
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi expects the newly-appointed Chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Syafruddin Temenggung to move quickly to resolve the US$10 billion debt owed by former bank owners to the government.
He said that this would be Syafruddin's top priority in addition to meeting the state budget target of raising cash from assets sales to help finance the state budget deficit.
"I hope Syafruddin can be tough with the (bad) debtors, as the conclusion of the debt settlement program is considered a priority for him, aside from (achieving the state budget) target," Laksamana told reporters after Syafruddin was sworn in on Monday.
Laksamana added that in resolving the multi-billion debt problem, Syafruddin must always follow existing regulations and that his decisions should not benefit the conglomerates at the expense of the public.
The Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises oversees the agency.
After months of speculation, Laksamana finally announced on Friday that he had dismissed I Putu Gede Ary Suta from IBRA and replaced him with Syafruddin, an aide to the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and secretary of the powerful Financial Sector Policy Committee (FSPC), which groups senior economic ministers and that has the final say on IBRA's major assets sales and debt restructuring programs.
Ary Suta, who was appointed as IBRA chairman by president Abdurrahman Wahid 10 months ago, had been in disagreement over various issues with Laksamana.
He had been widely criticized for championing a proposal to extend the deadline period for the ex-bank owners in repaying their debts owed to the government. The plan, seen as favoring the debtors, has been scrapped by the Cabinet amid strong public criticism.
The debtors in question, totaling 33, were those whose banks received bail-out funds in 1997 and 1998 amid the devastating financial crisis. For some of them, the deadline to repay the debts expires this year.
The government has assigned a special group of legal experts to select which debtors have been uncooperative and to recommend measures to be taken against them.
Analysts have said that Syafruddin will have to replace the existing deputy chairmen of IBRA, who were hand-picked by Ary Suta, if he wants to move quickly in resolving the debt case.
Asked whether there is already a plan to reshuffle other high- ranking posts, Syafruddin did not rule out such a possibility.
"I'll talk to Pak Laks (Laksamana) over this, but (the idea) is still far from my mind," replied Syafruddin.
Syafruddin is the seventh chairman of IBRA since the agency, which has received some Rp 600 trillion ($60 billion) worth of assets from ailing banks, was set up in 1998.
Elsewhere, Laksamana dismissed earlier speculation that President Megawati Soekarnoputri had doubts about replacing Ary Suta with Syafruddin.
"There was no rejection at all from the President. In fact, I have been asked to accelerate the process. So this is based on a request of the President," Laksamana said.
With the huge assets controlled by IBRA, the agency has been the center of attention not only for the government but also politicians and businessmen, particularly indebted conglomerates. These vested interest groups have been trying to exert influence on the agency.