Citibank discriminates

Citibank discriminates

I recently wanted to use the Internet banking facilities of
Citibank to transfer monies from one of my accounts to another.
The transaction was blocked for the following reason: I am a
foreigner. Being a long-time customer of Citibank as well as
resident of Indonesia I find this behavior discriminatory,
insulting and completely contrary to all the stated lofty
objectives of this bank.

Apparently Citibank is hiding behind a government regulation
instructing them to do so. If correct, this only makes matters
worse.

If the government singles out the few remaining foreigners for
the illegal money manipulations taking place in Indonesia, they
should read the daily newspapers, for example. These provide a
fresh daily menu of Indonesian money manipulation far beyond the
imagination of most foreigners. In fact many Indonesians could
teach foreigners lessons on how to manipulate money illegally,
rather than the reverse.

Citibank hiding behind the government and blindly kowtowing to
regulations is not only improper but also immature. Citibank
instead should have enough power and profits to stand up for
consumers' rights and human rights when short-sighted bureaucrats
step out of line. This event reflects the same thinking in
government levels as we saw a few years back, when it was
suggested that AIDS could be prevented from spreading here by
compulsory annual blood tests of foreigners only.

If Indonesia is serious about foreign investment it also
should seriously review the treatment provided to foreigners by
the government and provide at least a level playing field. Right
now the sign "Foreigners not welcome" is hanging on your front
door.

MICHAEL SINJORGO

Jakarta