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