Habibie's action awaited

Habibie's action awaited

The report of the House of Representatives' special commission on the Bank Bali scandal disclosed the names of seven state officials and eight others suspected of being either directly or indirectly involved in the case.

The report also asked President B.J. Habibie to take immediate legal action by suspending any government officials suspected of involvement in the (irregular) process of facilitating the disbursement from government guarantee funds to the amount of Rp 904.6 billion to Bank Bali.

Aside from the fact that such action is needed to improve the government's credibility abroad, market players are hoping that firm action from Habibie can improve sentiments in money and capital markets. The point is that it is necessary to make sure that the value of the rupiah to the U.S. dollar remains favorable at any given time.

Admittedly, Habibie finds himself in a problematic situation. Nevertheless, this the perfect moment for him to give a more reformist nuance to his tenure, especially considering the condition which we find ourselves in at present as we try to move toward an economic recovery.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta