Dubious nature of YLKAI

Dubious nature of YLKAI

It was interesting for Manulife to receive a public letter
from the Foundation of Indonesian Insurance Consumers (YLKAI), an
organization which claims to represent the interest of insurance
consumers in Indonesia, but which Manulife is aware of being run
by lawyers representing the case against Manulife.

Ordinarily, Manulife would just ignore letters from such a
non-credible source but due to the alarming nature of the YLKAI,
I feel, as an attorney for Manulife, that it is important to
address some important concerns to the public.

Disturbingly, the YLKAI blatantly violates the key principles
practiced by credible and reputable consumer organizations. By
using the interest of the insurance consumers of Indonesia (The
Jakarta Post , Dec. 15, 2000) to belie a hidden agenda is a
blatant violation of trust. Meanwhile, the personal involvement
of the chairman of the YLKAI, Swandy Salim, in the Tanuhandaru
case, which the YLKAI has focussed on and has attended each
official trial session open to the public (the Post, Dec. 15,
2000), is blatantly unethical because the ideas and opinions the
organization expresses, as a supposed consumer group, are clearly
subjective and biased.

If there are any genuine consumers who are members of the
YLKAI, I hope they understand that, more than confidentially, the
organization is chaired by a lawyer who is active in the cases it
lobbies for, is resident in the same building as the lawyers
active in the cases it lobbies for, and uses a free internet
Hotmail service, which does not provide any company disclosure
information, as its main email address.

PALMER SITUMORANG

Attorney for

PT Manulife Indonesia