Calls for House to publish PwC report intensify

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)