Sjahril returns to Bank Indonesia

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)