Syahril may step down

Syahril may step down

LONDON (AFX): Bank Indonesia governor Syahril Sabirin said he
might step down before his term ends on May 2003 even if he is
cleared of charges in the Bank Bali trial.

In an interview with Central Banking, a quarterly journal, he
said he is not sure if he will serve his full term.

In early 2000, Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid
threatened to name Syahril, who was appointed in Feb 1998, a
suspect in the case if he did not resign as governor.

The case relates to the reimbursement by the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency of Rp 904 billion to Bank Bali during the
banking crisis of 1997/98.

Syahril said Abdurrahman had offered him an ambassadorship "to
make it look elegant", but if he had resigned, the central bank's
independence would "remain only in legal script".

He said he was "100 percent sure that I am innocent", adding
that he would appeal to the supreme court if necessary.

Syahril said the International Monetary Fund's delay in paying
the last tranche of its loan program to Indonesia pending the
fulfillment of the government's promises on macroeconomic reform
is damaging the economy "quite considerably". He said however
that the IMF had every reason to be strict.