Calls for House to publish PwC report intensify

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives must publish as soon as possible the full PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit report into a high profile Bank Bali scandal in a bid to regain international support in recovering the country's crisis-hit economy.

An economist at the prestigious think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, Pande Raja Silalahi, said, "The PwC report must be published immediately. Don't let it be politicized again. If not, the people will continue to suffer."

Pande said that publishing the PwC report would be a symbol that Indonesia's new government was serious in upholding the supremacy of the law and in creating good governance.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Akbar Tanjung was quoted by Surya Citra TV station on Saturday as saying that the legislature was considering a "mechanism" on how to disclose immediately the PwC report even prior to the completion of an investigation process by a House joint committee.

Speaking after meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid, Akbar also said that the President wanted the report published quickly.

The PwC report is now in the hands of Akbar.

Akbar assigned recently House Commission II on legal affairs and House Commission IX on budget and monetary matters to form a joint committee to study the PwC report and to decide whether to publish the report.

The joint committee, which is given until the middle of December to complete its investigation, will start its job this week after Akbar transfers the PwC report to the committee.

But Pande said the report must be published sooner to allow international donors, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to resume loan disbursements to the country.

"The IMF will disburse its loans again once the PwC report is disclosed to the public," he said.

Head of Commission IX, Sukowalujo, and head of Commission II, Amien Arjoso, vowed last week to push for an immediate release of the PwC report.

"My personal view is that the report must be published immediately. But it depends on the joint committee," said Amien, a legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the largest party in the House.

A legislator of PDI Perjuangan, Sukowalujo, said, "It's very important to resolve this case transparently, satisfactorily and fairly in the interest of the nation."

"I want this report published. Kwik has said that our budget is minus," he said referring to the newly appointed Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie.

Kwik has repeatedly said that fixing relations with the IMF, which were broken off due to the Bank Bali scandal, was crucial because the country needed foreign loans to finance its various economic programs to recover from the crisis.

He said that the IMF demanded the public disclosure of the PwC report in order to get it and other donors to resume loan disbursement. The IMF is organizing a multibillion dollar bailout for the crisis-hit economy.

The IMF, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank suspended loan disbursement to Indonesia in mid-September, after the administration of former president B.J. Habibie failed to honor its commitment to publish the PwC report.

The Bank Bali scandal centers in the "illegal" transfer of a US$80 million commission from the bank to a private firm linked to Habibie's inner circle, including influential men in Akbar's Golkar Party.

Part of the PwC report has been circulated among journalists, disclosing the names of several businesspeople as well as government officials who directly or indirectly received part of the commission.

The report also pointed at the direct or indirect involvement of several high-ranking government officials. (rei)