Habibie makes last effort

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie staunchly defended his achievements and magnanimously asked for forgiveness for all his shortcomings in a last-ditch attempt on Sunday to convince the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to accept his accountability report.

"To the factions which have rejected my accountability report and which think I have accomplished nothing... I shall put this to God Almighty," Habibie told the Assembly in a speech responding to the MPR's views of his accountability report, which was delivered on Thursday.

Different from his accountability speech, which he began with the story of his success in coping the country's economic crisis, his Sunday address started with his defense of his policy on East Timor.

The President appealed to the Assembly to scrap 1978 Decree No. VI which ratified the integration of East Timor as the country's 27th province and ratified the self-determination vote result.

"As a great nation determined to advance democracy and human rights, we have to accept and respect the result of the ballot," the President said, referring to the Aug. 30 vote for independence by the East Timorese.

Fending off harsh criticism of his poor record in resolving human rights violations during his 17-month tenure, the President cited a limited number of security forces and the country's complex problems as the main barriers to process the numerous cases.

"We should remember that the simultaneous outbursts of violence in various areas must also be judged from the context of democratic euphoria within the society," Habibie argued.

He denied that the government was half-hearted in resolving major human rights violations.

On the kidnapping of dozens of government critics before the fall of then president Soeharto in May last year, he pointed out that the Jakarta Military Tribunal had convicted 11 Army Special Forces members, including a major, for disobeying their superior's order.

On the Trisakti May 12 shooting incident last year, which killed four students, the President said the military or police were still hunting for the shooters.

"Ballistic tests are still underway and the case still cannot be taken to court," the President said.

The shooting triggered nationwide riots which claimed about 1,200 lives and forced president Soeharto to hand over his power to then vice president Habibie on May 21.

In proving his government's seriousness to end the tragedies in Ambon, Maluku and Aceh, which have claimed thousands of lives, Habibie merely cited military reports.

He said the military tribunal in Banda Aceh had convicted five soldiers for violating human rights and more defendants would be tried next month.

"Insya Allah (God willing), next month more cases will be brought to court," Habibie said.

The President defended the acting attorney general's decision to stop corruption investigations on Soeharto, saying: "The case is not definitely halted. If there is new evidence, it can be reopened."

Speaking to journalists after the President's speech, Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung still hoped that the 11 factions in the Assembly would accept Habibie's accountability speech.

"The President has given his response to factions' different views on his accountability speech. We still hope the factions that have decided to reject his accountability will change their mind after hearing Habibie's response today," he said.

But, presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle reaffirmed on Sunday her party's rejection of Habibie's speech.

"I personally believe that our faction will still reject Habibie's accountability speech," she said.

Habibie defended once again his economic programs, including the much-criticized handling of a high profile Bank Bali scandal which allegedly involved certain members of his Cabinet and inner circle.

Habibie reiterated reasons why his government had declined to disclose the result of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) investigation of the Bank Bali scandal.

He pointed out that since the PwC audit report contains information on various personal bank accounts, disclosing the report would violate the country's banking secrecy code.

"A violation of the banking secrecy code risks a severe penalty. That's why the BPK (Supreme Audit Agency) is currently asking for a legal opinion from the Supreme Court for the possibility to disclose the full PwC report," he said.

The Bank Bali scandal centers around the transfer of US$80 million from the bank to a private firm owned by businessmen linked to Habibie's inner circle.

Disclosing the PwC report would reveal the influential people involved in the scandal, which would seriously undermine Habibie's effort to run for president.

Economists said that the Bank Bali scandal cost the country dearly, including a delay of the banking restructuring program and the suspension of crucial foreign loans primarily from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Experts also said that the scandal has destroyed confidence in the economy and thwarted overall economic reforms.

But Habibie dismissed such concerns, saying that the loan delay was not an indication that the IMF and the World Bank had lost confidence on the government and economic reform programs.

"The fact that the IMF sent its technical team here proves that it is still committed toward the success of our economic recovery programs," he said.

The IMF has said its technical team to Jakarta met primarily with independent economists and party leaders to review the country's various economic programs.

He said that the stable rupiah helped in curbing inflation which, in turn, allowed a drop in interest rates.

But experts said that the rather positive indicators did not necessarily mean that the economy was already on track toward recovery.

Habibie admitted that the estimated cost of the country's bank restructuring program was Rp 569.2 trillion.

Habibie had said in his accountability speech that the overall cost estimate was Rp 350 trillion, which drew sharp criticism from analysts.

Economists criticized Habibie's accountability report for containing inaccurate figures on such important matters as banking.

Habibie reportedly angrily berated his advisers and economic team for the humiliating mistake.

Defending his record in dealing with corruption, collusion and nepotism in state enterprises and agencies, Habibie said that his government had started taking firm action at the state oil and gas firm Pertamina, state electricity firm PLN, and state logistic agency Bulog.

He pointed out that PwC and Arthur Andersen had completed audits on the state enterprises. (rei/rms/jsk/byg/05/prb)