Prudential agents urge revision of flawed laws
Prudential agents urge revision of flawed laws
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
About 200 agents of PT Prudential Life Assurance rallied
outside the Ministry of Finance on Thursday in support of the
ministry's demand that Law No. 4/1998 on bankruptcy be amended.
Heavy rain during the day did not stop the insurance agents
from staging the demonstration, which was also aimed at
protesting the commercial court declaring the insurance company
bankrupt.
They also demanded that lawyer Yuhelson, who was appointed by
the court as receiver of the insurance company's assets, be
replaced by an independent caretaker.
TEJ Timothius, one of the coordinators of the rally, explained
that the agents held the demonstration in the interest of their
customers.
"Several of our customers, especially those who are sick, need
their insurance coverage right away," he said. "How will we will
we address their claims if the company's operations continue to
be disrupted by the bankruptcy case?"
Timothius also said that the agents were demonstrating for the
sake of their own livelihoods.
"There are currently 8,500 agents working for Prudential," he
said. "This means that the lives of some 30,000 people or more
could be affected if Prudential is closed down."
Timothius said the agents were demanding that Yuhelson be
replaced as receiver because they had learned that he had links
with the lawyer of Lee Boo Siong, who filed the bankruptcy suit
against Prudential.
The commercial court declared Prudential bankrupt last Friday,
following Lee's suit. The insurance company, however, has
appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Ministry of Finance reiterated calls for the accelerated
amendment of the Bankruptcy Law, which the ministry has claimed
is flawed, since a solvent company can be declared bankrupt due
to a petition filed by a single creditor.
The ministry has also demanded a final say when closing down
an insurance company, a similar role played by the central bank
when deciding the fate of banks.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti said on Thursday that the government would discuss
ways to help Prudential, but would not interfere in the legal
process.
He declined to provide details on the planned measures, saying
only that it would be unveiled next week.
Dorodjatun previously warned that the Prudential case could
hurt foreign investors' sentiment in the country.
Prudential is controlled by UK-based Prudential Assurance
Company.