Embattled Sjahril still BI governor

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) decided on Tuesday to allow Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin to retain his job despite being named a suspect in the high profile Bank Bali scandal.

"We opine that Pak Sjahril Sabirin should be allowed to keep his job as the governor of Bank Indonesia," House Speaker Akbar Tandjung told a news conference following a meeting late in the afternoon with Sjahril and several members of the central bank's board of governors.

Akbar said the House's decision was based on Law No. 23/1999 on the autonomy of Bank Indonesia which stipulates that members of the central bank's board of governors cannot be dismissed during their term unless proven guilty of committing a crime, voluntarily resign or are declared permanently unable to do the job.

"But if the court later issues a firm ruling that Sjahril is guilty, then he can be dismissed as the governor," he said.

Akbar's afternoon comments were clearly an about-face from his earlier suggestion that Sjahril should be temporarily replaced by senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution because he had been named a suspect.

"The (senior) deputy could handle Sjahrir's duties. The House could officially install him (Anwar) as Central Bank governor when the time comes," said Akbar, a savvy politician and chairman of the giant Golkar Party.

Sjahril was named a suspect late on Monday by the Attorney General's Office, raising speculation that this was a political ploy to oust the embattled central bank governor before his four- year term ends in 2003.

The rupiah fell to Rp 8,575 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday compared to Rp 8,445 on Monday.

But Sjahril is fighting back. He maintains that he did nothing wrong in relation to the Bank Bali scandal, and has stressed that he will not step down as Bank Indonesia governor just because of political pressure.

He claims the accusation is designed to force him out of the central bank before his term ends.

Many analysts see the case as a showdown between the central bank governor and President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Sjahril said that Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid had repeatedly told him to resign or risk being implicated in the Bank Bali case.

He recalled that Gus Dur first made the demand in a meeting late last year, asking him to step down so that he could be replaced by his deputy.

Sjahril declined to name the deputy, but a document issued after the news conference said that Gus Dur was referring to Bank Indonesia deputy governor Dono Iskandar Djojosubroto, who is currently on an overseas trip.

The document said that the December meeting was also attended by finance minister Bambang Sudibyo, Cacuk Sudarijanto (now chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency) and legislator Hariadi Achmad.

Sjahril said that Gus Dur made the same demands again in February and May including through Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, by repeating the same threat that he either step down or be named a suspect in the scandal.

He said that a "third party" went to his office and gave him until last Sunday to agree to the President's demand that he resign.

But Sjahril said that if he resigned because of political pressure it would mean he was also violating Law No. 23.

He said he had asked Marzuki if there was an alternative.

He said if he resigned due to political pressure or was named a suspect without any legal basis, it would affect the country's monetary stability.

"It would really be a pity if our monetary condition was affected by unnecessary things," he said.

Sjahril said he had told Marzuki that he was not planning to stay at the central bank until the end of his term.

"I may step down before my term ends as long as I have more or less achieved my objectives at the central bank," he said.

Both Sjahril and Akbar declined to confirm if Gus Dur or Marzuki had intervened in the central bank by asking him to resign.

"I won't make any conclusion at the moment," he said.

Separately, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman denied allegations by Bank Indonesia officials that he had intervened in the central bank, saying that as an attorney general he was entitled to clarify all the consequences to be faced by Sjahril if he was named a suspect.

"I met him just to point out that, according to the law, the BI (Bank Indonesia) governor would have to be suspended as a consequence of his legal status. So it can't be called intervention or whatever," he told journalists after an inauguration ceremony at his office.

Marzuki reaffirmed that there was no political motive in naming Sjahril a suspect. He said his office's decision had a strong legal basis and had applied sufficient rationale in making the decision.

"Bank Indonesia is not above the law. If the state prosecutor suspects a crime was committed there, and there is a legal basis to undergo legal measures, then we are obliged to do so, " Marzuki explained.

He added that his office would start to intensify the investigation into Sjahril's alleged involvement in the bank scandal, despite the suspect's refusal to withdraw as BI governor.

Meanwhile, People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais said the legislative body would take action if the government interfered with the central bank.

"The legislative would 'punch' the executive, if it interferes with the central bank," Amien said.

But he said that if Sjahril was proven guilty, he should resign.

Amien feared that if Sjahril was replaced due to political pressure, it would affect investor confidence. (team)