No plans to give IBRA legal immunity: Laksamana
No plans to give IBRA legal immunity: Laksamana
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government denied it was drafting a regulation which will
give legal indemnity to Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
officials once the agency is closed.
State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, whose
office oversees IBRA, said on Tuesday the regulation, in the form
of a presidential decree, would only provide protection for IBRA
officials from lawsuits filed by dissatisfied debtors.
"There are plenty of unhappy debtors whose assets were seized
or taken to courts by IBRA officials. Some then filed lawsuits
against those individuals, and probably even threatened them.
"It's this kind of legal protection that we want the officials
to have. But, this kind of protection will not be applied if the
officials have violated the law in carrying out their tasks.
"If a law has been broken, then no one is above the law," said
Laksamana.
IBRA was established in 1998 and was tasked with taking over
assets from former bank owners and troubled banks as part of the
government's bank restructuring program in the wake of the late
1990s financial crisis.
The agency is to be dissolved on Feb. 27, the draft decree of
which is still being formulated and is expected to be finalized
in near future, according to a source at the State Palace.
The controversy flared up in the past few days over press
reports saying that the draft contains a clause protecting
current and former officials of the agency from possible legal
proceedings.
It comes at a time of public outcry over the agency's
performance.
IBRA, the constant target of criticism for selling assets at
hugely discounted prices, has been also on the receiving end of
harsh criticism for being too lenient on a number of major
debtors. The police are also currently investigating alleged
violations by IBRA officials in distributing government bailout
funds to troubled banks during the crisis.
Laksamana's remarks, however, should ease the tension.
IBRA Chairman Syafruddin Temenggung also brushed aside such a
clause, saying the controversy has been blown way out of
proportion.
He clarified that, upon IBRA's establishment, there was a
government ruling stating the agency's officials would be
provided legal indemnity, so that they could carry out their
tasks -- seizing, taking over and selling assets as well as
freezing accounts of debtors -- without having to worry over
possible lawsuits launched against them.
"This is what legal indemnity means. But, if there are
findings that relate to irregularities or corruption, then they
would not enjoy that protection," Syafruddin said, adding that
the ongoing of investigation into the alleged misused of funds in
the 502 account should serve as an example. The account contains
government bailout funds for banks.
"In the 502 account case, the investigation should go on. So,
in principle, no one is above the law."
Earlier, Chief Justice Bagir Manan said that to extend to any
body legal indemnity would be against legal principles.
"Legal indemnity is a violation of the principle of equality
before the law. If you want to do that, it has to be at least
regulated under a law (not a presidential decree)," Bagir said.