Government bank scams

Just like so many other citizens, I was neither quite concerned nor surprised upon learning of the lending fraud cases at BNI and BRI, both state-owned banks (which means that they are also owned by the Indonesian people), inflicting upon the state staggering losses totaling respectively Rp 1.7 trillion and Rp 294 billion.

Involving insiders, these scams have been committed in a very sly, almost professional manner. These insiders surely would have been people that the government trusted to run the banks so that the banks could make legitimate profits. The government is supposed to later allocate the profit for the promotion of the general welfare of the Indonesian people and also for the salaries of the banks' employees.

Reports about these fraud cases did not come as a surprise to me, as many similar scandals had been committed earlier. I have often wondered why it seems difficult for the government to monitor its banks and their employees. With proper monitoring and development, banks can expand in a healthy way. Bank employees with good achievement should be rewarded and promoted while dishonest ones should be punished.

SUGENG HARTONO Jakarta