No simple crime

No simple crime

Although it is quite possible that a violation of technical banking procedures was involved in the Bank Bali scandal, the authorities should not limit their investigation merely to the criminal aspects of the case, thereby creating the impression that the fault lies with the bank's previous management under Rudy Ramli only. If the main focus of the investigation is restricted to such criminal technical violations only, the public's trust in our banking system will always be absent.

Banks are institutions which must rely on trust. They must be able to maintain public credibility and assure clients that their money will always be safely kept. But if they are taken advantage of by people with political motives, the public's trust in our national banking system will increasingly erode.

Banks are also engines of development so that their existence must be protected. The Bank Bali scandal must be satisfactorily resolved, the main masterminds behind it must be found and an open trial must be held. If this can be done, the prestige of President B.J. Habibie's administration will be restored in the eyes of our own people and financial institutions around the world.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta