Kwik denies report attacking IMF role

JAKARTA (JP): Former coordinating minister for the economy, finance and industry Kwik Kian Gie said he was misquoted in The Jakarta Post 's front-page story on Sept. 18, 2000, headlined Ex- economic ministers attack IMF role in RI.

The quotes were taken from statements Kwik made during a discussion in Jakarta on Sept. 16, 2000.

The following are the main points of rebuttal, amplification or correction as submitted by Kwik:

1. On the role of the International Monetary Fund:

I never said the IMF's role in Indonesia had failed to benefit the people. Instead, in my interview which was carried by the Post in its Oct. 6, 1997, issue under the headline A thorough reform with IMF help needed, I bluntly stated that Indonesia could not cope with its economic crisis without IMF assistance. I also strongly suggested that Indonesia exercise its right as a shareholder in the IMF to ask for assistance from the multilateral agency.

As you may remember, the Indonesian government did ask for IMF assistance three days later. I again reiterated the crucial role of the IMF in another interview that was carried by the Post in its Oct. 13, 1997, issue, headlined Turning to IMF is both right and a right. I have also stressed on many occasions that the IMF's role in helping economic recovery, notably in combating corruption through a system of transparency and in building a system of good governance in the public and private sectors, is quite positive.

2. On fund managers:

I did not say that they (foreign consultants) are actually the same people who bragged on CNN and CNBC years ago about their decision to lend money to local (unscrupulous) conglomerate owners.

What I did say was that the fund managers who lent unscrupulous Indonesian conglomerates large sums of money that later turned into bad credits totaling US$65 billion, were those who claimed to be the best analysts of Indonesia and who were often quoted by CNN and CNBC as praising the greatness of the Indonesian economy.

But when their credits turned sour and they found themselves cheated by the borrowers, they forced the Indonesian government to hire high-fee foreign consultants to get the debtors to repay their debts. Hence, the creditors and the analysts often quoted by CNN and CNBC, as I said in the discussion, are different from the foreign consultants hired for the Jakarta Initiative Task Force.