More time needed to complete BI law, Akbar says

More time needed to complete BI law, Akbar says

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
said on Wednesday that the House would not be able to quickly
complete the amendment of the central bank law as requested by
the government.

Akbar said there were many complex issues that needed to be
debated by the legislators.

"There are many matters that need to be debated and they're
quite complicated. So I think it will take a longer time," he
said on the sidelines of a ceremony at the State Palace.

He added that the House special team assigned to deliberate
the government-proposed bill on the amendment of the central bank
law would only resume its session in the middle of January after
legislators ended their month-long recess.

He said the current meeting being conducted by some members of
the special team was only convened for lobbying purposes and did
not have a mandate to make decisions.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli
said on Wednesday that he was optimistic the deliberation of the
amendment would be completed soon.

"Looking at today's meeting, which has been very effective and
communicative, I think the (upcoming) deliberation will go well,"
Rizal said following a closed-door meeting with the House special
team.

A speedy completion of the amendment of the central bank law
is seen as a crucial factor to help revive investor confidence in
the ailing economy.

Minister of Finance Prijadi Praptosuhardjo said earlier on
Tuesday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would only
disburse its next loan tranche to the country after the House
completed the amendment.

The IMF has delayed the disbursement of about US$400 million
to Indonesia until between February and March. The loan was
scheduled to be disbursed later this month.

The government proposed the bill last month, which some have
said was merely designed to remove the legal obstacle for
President Abdurrahman Wahid to oust Bank Indonesia Governor
Sjahril Sabirin.

But rumors have it that other large political parties are also
interested in installing their people at the helm of the central
bank.

Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), and Akbar of the
Golkar Party are believed to have a strong interest in having
their people at Bank Indonesia.

The government recently agreed to a proposal from PDI
Perjuangan to allow senior politicians to become the Bank
Indonesia governor.

According to the existing Bank Indonesia law enacted in May
1999, members of the board of governors, including the governor,
cannot be told to resign by the House unless it is proven they
have committed a crime, they are incapacitated or voluntarily
step down.

The government-proposed bill includes a clause allowing the
House to dismiss the governor and the deputy governors if they
fail to meet the central bank's monetary target or if they have
been inactive for at least three months.

Abdurrahman has demanded Sjahril's resignation since February.

Sjahril was first appointed to the central bank during the
last period of the administration of former authoritarian
president Soeharto. He was reelected in May 1999 during the
period of Soeharto's handpicked successor B.J. Habibie, after
Bank Indonesia became an independent central bank.

Sjahril has been accused of involvement in last year's high
profile Bank Bali scandal. The court process is expected to start
soon.

Five of the eight members of Bank Indonesia's board of
governors, including senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution,
tendered their resignation in November amid calls from the
President for a reshuffle at the central bank.

The resignations were made while Sjahril was in the custody of
the Attorney General's Office.(rei)