No politicking behind reshuffle: IBRA Chief
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The reshuffling of top officials at the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) was to prepare for the meeting of tougher targets next year, said IBRA chief I Putu Gede Ary Suta on Friday, as he dismissed rumors of politicking being behind the move.
"There is an increase in our targets, the demand for faster (loan) restructuring, and for faster bank restructuring, all of which require team work," Ary Suta was quoted as saying by detik.com after the inauguration of the four new deputies.
On Thursday, IBRA said that the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises, which oversees the agency, had replaced four IBRA deputies on account of their poor performance, even though Ary Suta said IBRA was certain to meet its asset sales target for this year.
The changes revived early speculation of politicking infesting the agency since he became IBRA chief last June.
Ary Suta took the agency by storm, engaging in a mission to revamp the organization without delay.
He has moved to slash the excessive presence of consultants in IBRA, and cut short its decision-making chain. Analysts have warned that such drastic restructuring at IBRA would come at the expense of its asset sales target.
IBRA documents, leaked to the media, clearly reveal the damage done: a centralized decision-making process that has alienated Ary Suta from his staff, and effectively caused the agency's work to grind to a halt.
Ary Suta admitted there was opposition to him, but denied it was hampering IBRA's work.
With the change in government in August, many believed Ary Suta's days were numbered, especially after State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi took IBRA under his personal wing.
Among the deputies that were replaced on Friday were former deputy chairwoman of IBRA's Bank Restructuring Unit, Felia Salim, and former deputy chairman of the Asset Management Credit division, Irwan Siregar.
Irwan recalled resistance to Ary Suta in the early period of his tenure, but blamed it on a lack of communication.
"It's normal for chiefs to have their own ideas, and I think we should give him a chance," Irwan said in an interview with SCTV television on Friday.
Despite the earlier fears that politicking would hurt IBRA's asset sales target, the agency has now come close to meeting it.
Ary Suta said he expected revenues of Rp 3 trillion (about US$288 million) to come in over the next two weeks to help raise the targeted Rp 27 trillion.
He did not say where he was expecting to book new deals.
IBRA asset sale revenue contributes to the financing of this year's state budget deficit of around Rp 54 trillion.
The agency is in charge of selling assets it took over from the banking sector in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis.
It has amassed some Rp 600 trillion in assets, of which about one third consist of bad loans, and some others in the form of shares of nationalized banks.
In spite of the progress in asset sales, IBRA is seen as lagging behind in the divestment of nationalized banks.
This year, IBRA should have finalized the sale of Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Niaga.
Ary Suta said that a deal for BCA this year was still likely, but the receipt of the proceeds would have to wait to next year.
When asked why he had replaced the deputies although they had met their targets, Ary Suta said IBRA was more than just about targets.
"Is our goal just to go after targets, because there is a lot that must be done?" he explained.
For next year, the agency must raise Rp 48.2 trillion in asset sales, or nearly twice this year's target.