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