President would have known bank details: Rudini

President would have known bank details: Rudini

JAKARTA (JP): The President would have been fully consulted
before Saturday's government announcement on the liquidation of
16 ailing private banks, a former close aide to President
Soeharto, Rudini, said yesterday.

Rudini, a former minister of home affairs, said the government
would have handled the issue with extraordinary care before
announcing the liquidation.

The government would have had a series of detailed
consultations with the President to obtain his approval on the
measure, he said.

"It was a government decision... and I do not believe that
the President would not have known the names of the 16 liquidated
banks, including names of the owners."

Rudini was commenting on statements by one of Soeharto's sons,
Bambang Trihatmodjo, who said Tuesday that the President had been
given only general information and may not have known full
details regarding the economic reform.

Bambang filed a lawsuit yesterday in the Jakarta State
Administrative Court against Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad,
who announced the liquidation of the 16 ailing private banks.

Three of the 16 liquidated banks were partly or wholly owned
by Soeharto's relatives.

The announcement came a day after the International Monetary
Fund announced its decision to provide a US$23 billion package to
help stabilize Indonesia's economy.

Bambang is a major shareholder of Bank Andromeda, one of the
ailing banks listed for liquidation. He owns 25 percent of the
shares, while business tycoons Prajogo Pangestu and Henry Pribadi
own 50 and 25 percent respectively.

Probosutedjo, Soeharto's half brother, is the sole owner of
Bank Jakarta, which was also included in the list.

Soeharto's daughter, Siti Hediati Prabowo, holds an eight
percent stake in Bank Industri, another bank listed for
liquidation.

Rudini, who is now chairman of the Institute for Strategic
Studies of Indonesia, an informal military think tank, said
Bambang must have been emotional while issuing the statement.

He said the government must have considered all the economic
reasons before making such a decision.

"I believe that the 16 banks were liquidated because they were
not healthy," he said.

He said the government's decision would gain sympathy from the
domestic and international business communities.

"Pak Harto is a senior and experienced head of state. He must
have put the nation as the first priority rather than his
children and relatives," he said.

Rudini suggested that the government should disclose its
reasoning for its decision to liquidate the banks.

Four organizations of lawyers expressed concern yesterday that
the government has not been transparent in its handling of the
liquidations.

The organizations -- the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal
Aid Institute (YLBHI), the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin),
the Indonesian Advocates Association (AAI) and the Indonesian
Lawyers Association (IPHI) -- presented their views at a joint
press conference.

"The government has not been open about the condition of these
banks, whether they were 'healthy' or not," said YLBHI's chairman
Bambang Widjojanto, who acted as spokesman.

The four legal institutions called on the government to
explain why the government would only repay each depositor a
maximum of Rp 20 million against his or her account.

However, they supported the government's reform as a
protection of the public's interest and welfare.

"We are certain that the liquidation was part of the
government's move to restore the economic condition," said
Ikadin's secretary-general Djohan Djauhari. (imn/10)