Our central bank's credibility

Three former directors of Bank Indonesia are at present being questioned by the police. This is a rather sensational piece of news because it has been barely a week since they were dismissed from their positions.

According to police sources, the three were being questioned on suspicion of collusion involving huge amounts of money. Those suspicions were reportedly based on information obtained during the investigation of several private bankers who were arrested on suspicion of having been engaged in activities which resulted in a loss totaling hundreds of billions of rupiah to the state.

We laud the authorities concerned for having taken such firm action. The truth is that rumors -- as well as numerous photocopies of rather exhaustive documents -- have lately been circulating which insinuated that cases of corruption and collusion have occurred at Bank Indonesia. We hope that the arrest of the three former BI directors constitutes a signal that this whole case is going to be thoroughly investigated.

The credibility of Bank Indonesia as a national monetary authority is of strategic importance. The higher BI's credibility rating, the more stable Indonesia's monetary situation will be. The restoration of Bank Indonesia's credibility is therefore an absolute necessity for the recovery of our national economy, which is at present struggling under a monetary crisis.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta