Bank Niaga and bribery

Bank Niaga and bribery

It is a bitter reality that in Indonesia you can practically buy anything. This corrupt mentality has even been accepted as normal behavior.

Now in the divestment of 51 percent of the shares of Bank Niaga under the government's control, corruption is also heavy in the air.

There were rumors that legislators from the House Commission IX were bribed by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to ensure that the divestment process was plain sailing. The IBRA chief was quick to dispel these rumors.

This divestment process is odd because there is only one bidder, Malaysia's Commerce Asset Holding Berhad. That's why Kwik Kian Gie, State Minister for National Development Planning said this divestment was not logical. Despite this divestment, he warned, the government still has to pay over Rp 1,000 trillion for recapitalization bonds and their interest.

Kwik went against the grain of the government in the New Order era. It is odd that even if his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), is the ruling party now, his voice still goes unheeded.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta