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.