Our ailing banks

Our ailing banks

For a long time the disorder that exists in our national
banking system has been worrying us. Sixteen banks have been
liquidated, seven have had their ownerships taken over by the
government and dozens more have been placed under the care of the
Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

Now we are shocked to learn that the amount of government
(Bank Indonesia) money spent on assisting those ailing banks has
already surpassed the hundred trillion rupiah threshold, and we
can be practically certain that the Rp 109 trillion mark will be
further exceeded, among other things to save Bank Central Asia
(BCA) from total bankruptcy after the run by its depositors.

Since a lack of trust is at the core of the problem, it would
be appropriate for us to concentrate our efforts to find a way
out of our banking system's predicament on this particular area.
Efforts of a technical nature -- such as lending assistance to
ailing banks -- must be continued. At the same time, however, we
must try to meet respond to the public's aspirations and respond
to their sense of justice.

We believe that, for anyone who has misappropriated public
money and violated the people's rights, the existing legal
channels offer the best means to correct their wrongs.

-- Kompas, Jakarta