'Sjahril verdict reeks of irregularities'
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The High Court verdict which acquitted Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin of all corruption charges in the Bank Bali scandal was diametrically opposed to the people's sense of justice, according to top legislators and anti-corruption activists.
"The verdict is shocking," said legislator Benny Pasaribu of the House of Representatives Commission IX on financial and development planning affairs.
He also demanded a probe into possible irregularities behind the verdict.
A court official announced on Thursday that the High Court had overturned the corruption conviction and three-year jail sentence imposed on Sjahril in March by the Central Jakarta district court, but they have not released the reasons or if any new evidence had come to light.
On March 13, the district court found Sjahril guilty of corruption connected with the 1999 Bank Bali scandal but he remained free and continued his official duties pending the appeal.
The high profile scandal centered on the illegal transfer of part of some Rp 904 billion (US$90.4 million) in government blanket guarantee funds from Bank Bali to a company linked to the then ruling Golkar Party. There has been accusations that the funds were used to help finance the Golkar Party campaign in the 1999 general election.
"We smell irregularities here," said Albert Hasibuan of Gempita or the Movement of Concerned Citizens on State Assets. He did not elaborate.
But the country's weak and corruption-prone legal system has been in the spotlight recently following a number of controversial verdicts. In June, for instance, the local unit of Canada's insurer Manulife Financial Corp. was ruled bankrupt despite being fully solvent. The ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court, and the judges handing down the bankruptcy ruling are currently being investigated on corruption charges.
Corruption is endemic in Indonesia. The Berlin-based anti- corruption group said in its 2002 Corruption Perception Index that Indonesia again ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Another legislator Syamsul Balda urged Sjahril to step down despite the verdict which legally absolved him from the corruption charges, arguing that the central bank must be led by a person of the highest integrity without any questions or scandals linked to him or her.
"The Indonesian people wish to have exceptionally clean and honest people leading Bank Indonesia," he said.
He said that Bank Indonesia was a very strategic institution, which among its many duties, designed monetary policy for the entire and supervised banks.
Meanwhile, the 59-year old Sjahril welcomed the High Court decision.
"This is the result of patience for all of us at the central bank. Hopefully we will be able to perform better duties in the future and this will also create stability for our currency," he told reporters.
The rupiah ended slightly higher versus the U.S. dollar in thin trading Friday on suspected intervention by Bank Indonesia, dealers said.
The rupiah closed at Rp 8,840, up from its close of Rp 8,875 on Thursday.
Bank Indonesia employees also congratulated Sjahril, who has also received strong support from the central bank's board of governors throughout the trial process.