Sjahril returns to Bank Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin returned to office on Wednesday after five months in detention, while the House of Representatives special team vowed to speed up the deliberation of the government-proposed bill on the amendment of the central bank law that would remove the legal obstacle to oust him.

Sjahril said that his top priority was internal consolidation, particularly after the surprising move last month by five members of the board of governors to tender their resignations.

"What is needed now is internal consolidation ... I need to see what has happened during my absence and what are the pressing issues," he told reporters in his first remarks upon his return.

Sjahril was in his usual relaxed manner.

Sjahril was released from the custody of the Attorney General's Office on Tuesday after his arrest status expired. But he has to report to the Attorney General's Office every Monday.

He was detained in late June over the alleged involvement in last year's high profile Bank Bali scandal which had also been partly responsible for the failure of then president B.J. Habibie to be reelected.

Sjahril has persistently denied the allegation.

Many believe that Sjahril's detention was part of efforts by President Abdurrahman Wahid to remove him from office and to launch a major reshuffle at the troubled central bank.

Sjahril was installed as the governor of the Bank Indonesia by the then president Soeharto in early 1998 and remained at the top post until after Bank Indonesia became an independent central bank in May 1999 by virtue of a new central bank law.

The Abdurrahman administration has proposed to the House a bill to amend the central bank law which would allow the dismissal of the governor of Bank Indonesia and other deputy governors if they failed to meet monetary targets or had not been active in office for three consecutive months.

Under the existing law, the governor and his deputies cannot be removed unless they have been proven to have committed a crime, are incapacitated, or voluntarily resign.

The House is currently debating the proposed bill on the amendment of the central bank law.

Head of the House special team on the amendment of the law, Theo Toemion, said that the legislators would continue to intensively debate the bill, even during the one-month recess that will start on Monday.

Theo said that this would allow the House to pass the bill at a plenary session early next year.

According to the law, the President would propose candidates for the position of governor and senior deputy governor for the House to decide, and the two Bank Indonesia top officials would later propose the candidates for deputy governor position to the legislature.

The government has denied suggestions that the proposed amendment is engineered to remove Sjahril. Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli said that the amendment was made to enhance the public accountability of Bank Indonesia.

Separately, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Wednesday that Sjahril's release from detention proved that the proposed amendment was not aimed at ousting Sjahril.

Marzuki said that the dossier on Sjahril's case would soon be filed to the Central Jakarta District Court.

Asked about the possibility of his dismissal when the proposed amendment of the central bank has been approved by the House, Sjahril said: "Personally, I am ready if the law states so."

He declined to provide further comments on the amendment of the central bank law.

Meanwhile, a source at the House said that the major Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction had agreed with the Reform faction, a coalition of small Muslim political parties, to champion former chief economic minister Kwik Kian Gie and former finance minister Bambang Sudibyo as candidates for the position of Bank Indonesia governor and senior deputy governor respectively.

Asked about the resignation of senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution and four other deputy governors, Sjahril said that it was their personal decision.

But Sjahril was quoted as saying by the Forum weekly magazine that he had been betrayed by Anwar, who had been acting Bank Indonesia governor during Sjahril's absence.

"On what has happened to Bank Indonesia lately, frankly, I feel betrayed by Anwar. And what is more saddening is that Anwar has also betrayed Bank Indonesia," Sjahril said.

"My relationship with Anwar was initially very good, both personally and professionally. But after my detention I felt that Anwar wanted to move by himself without consulting me," Sjahril told the magazine.

Abdurrahman recently proposed Anwar as a candidate for the top position at Bank Indonesia but the proposal was considered by the House as legally defect because Sjahril is still legally governor of the central bank. (rei/bby/01)