Ex-BI employees call on Sjahril to quit his job

JAKARTA (JP): A group of former Bank Indonesia officials have suggested that Governor Sjahril Sabirin resign from the central bank because his determination to remain in office amid his current status as a suspect in a high profile bank scandal was harming the institution.

Darryl Dewantoro, a former deputy director at Bank Indonesia, said on Sunday that the central bank could not effectively implement its monetary policy if it was being led by a person facing a legal problem.

He also said that Sjahril's attitude would create "friction" among Bank Indonesia staff.

"Sjahril should be aware. He should not use the central bank's independent status to protect his personal interests," he said.

Darryl claimed to represent "many" former Bank Indonesia employees including ex-senior officials, but declined to disclose their names.

The Attorney General's Office recently named Sjahril as a suspect in the Bank Bali scandal that first emerged last year.

But Sjahril has denied any involvement in the scandal, and said that the move was merely a political ploy by President Abdurrahman Wahid to force him from Bank Indonesia.

He said that Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, had repeatedly asked him to step down from the central bank starting late last year or risk being implicated in the banking scandal.

Sjahril said that Gus Dur wanted current deputy governor Dono Iskandar to become the new Bank Indonesia Governor.

Under the new Bank Indonesia law, which guarantees the central bank's independent status, a member of the board of governors can only be dismissed by the House of Representatives if he or she has proven guilty by the court of a crime or if he or she is permanently incapable of carrying out the job.

Sjahril has said that he would not resign just because of political pressure.

Sjahril's current term is to end in May 2003. Sjahril was first appointed as governor by the former authoritarian president Soeharto in 1998 when the central bank was not yet independent. He was reappointed by the House in May 1999.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia said in a media statement on Sunday that the board of governors had concluded in its Wednesday meeting that Sjahril didn't have to step down from the central bank despite his current status as a suspect.

The statement echoed Sjahril's "controversial" statement made to the media earlier on Friday.

The board said that the status had not disturbed Sjahril's ability to carry out his duties.

But the board added that if it effect Sjahril's ability to do his job, it would hold another meeting to make a new decision.

The statement said that Wednesday's meeting followed a recommendation made last week by the House Commission IX for state budget and banking that the board of governors should decide on the fate of Sjahril.

But senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution gave a completely different statement on Friday, saying that the board of governors had not discussed nor made any decision in relation to Sjaril's fate.

Anwar said that the board of governors had no authority to suspend any of its members because such a decision must be made by the House as stipulated by the new central bank law. (rei)