Depositors' money at liquidated banks

Depositors' money at liquidated banks

From Bisnis Indonesia

I think the blocking of depositors' money at liquidated banks
is no small problem.

The money is the result of years of saving. Some of the
deposits may come from a lump sum retirement payment in which the
bank interest is used by the retired employee to live on.

If retired people lose their savings, how could they and their
family live? Many people could become ill from such stressful
circumstances.

I hope the government will allocate IMF funds or ASEAN
bilateral aid to pay back people who had deposits of over Rp 20
million at the banks undergoing liquidation.

The Indonesian government receives a 15 percent tax on the
interest of savings in Indonesian banks (no such tax is known
abroad). The government has been able to collect large revenues
from such taxes since 1988.

The question is whether the liquidation of banks -- which keep
depositors' money -- violates human rights and the principle of
justice in a country based on law. The liquidated banks operated
with a permit issued by Bank Indonesia, the government
institution which sets the conditions for the establishment of
banks and supervises their operations.

EFFENDY

Bandung, West Java