Gus Dur refuses to meet with Sjahril

Gus Dur refuses to meet with Sjahril

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has ruled out
meeting with Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin until the
murky legal case against him has been resolved, Attorney General
Marzuki Darusman said on Thursday.

"The President is not available to meet with the BI governor
until the legal process is clarified," Marzuki said on the
sidelines of a graduation ceremony at Merdeka Palace for cadets
from the military and police academies.

Marzuki added that pending a resolution of the case, Syahril
had been advised by the government not to make any strategic
decisions in his capacity as central bank governor.

"If he makes a key decision and then problems emerge later, it
will make things complicated," he said.

Sjahril is a suspect in the politically charged Bank Bali
scandal, which centers on a Rp 546 billion payment by Bank Bali
to a well-connected private company to facilitate the recovery of
Rp 904 billion in interbank loans owed to the bank.

The commission was unnecessary because the loans were
guaranteed by the government.

Marzuki said Syahril was the key to the Bank Bali scandal,
because the central bank was responsible for the disbursement of
the money.

Syahril, who was released last week after six months of
detention and has since resumed his job, has proclaimed his
innocence and accused Abdurrahman of implicating him in the Bank
Bali case in a bid to replace him.

He has charged that Abdurrahman and Marzuki asked him to
choose between resignation and arrest.

Marzuki said on Wednesday prosecutors would bring Sjahril's
case to court next week.

Sjahril has attempted to meet with Abdurrahman following his
release and return to his duties at the central bank, but the
President has so far refused the advances.

House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung appealed to
the President on Wednesday to meet with Sjahril.

"The President should agree to meet with Sjahril or risk
causing further uncertainty in the financial markets," Akbar said
during a media conference following a closed-door meeting with
Sjahril and members of the central bank's board of governors.

Akbar also said he had total confidence in Sjahril's ability
to perform his job and make important monetary decisions. "I
expect him (Sjahril) to be able to execute his job properly."

"There is also no reason for the board of governors to be
hesitant in making important policy," he added, referring to
concerns that members of the board of governors who had recently
tendered their resignations might be hesitant in taking crucial
decisions.

Akbar said until their replacements were appointed, those
members who had resigned last month would remain active.

Five of the eight members of the Bank Indonesia board of
governors, including senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution,
resigned in response to calls from the government for a reshuffle
at the central bank.

The President has been demanding a cleanup of Bank Indonesia
since late last year, particularly the resignation of Sjahril,
who was first appointed to the central bank in 1998 during the
administration of former president Soeharto. He was reappointed
in May 1999 after a new central bank law was enacted guaranteeing
Bank Indonesia's independence.

Under this central bank law, the members of the board of
governors, including Sjahril, cannot be replaced unless they have
been proven to have committed a crime, are incapacitated or
voluntarily resign.

The government has proposed a bill to amend this law, thus
removing the legal obstacles to the dismissal of the entire board
of governors.

The House began to debate the bill, but the debate was
suspended when the legislators went on their one-month recess.

The debate is expected to be completed only after the middle
of January, after the House returns from recess. (byg/rei)