Tender: Transparency needed

Tender: Transparency needed

From Warta Kota

Chairperson for the oversight committee of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Mar'ie Muhammad recently said that there was yet more openness, as a result of complaints by many tender participants in the mass media, about the implementation of tenders made available at the second stage of a process enabling portfolios of credit to be extended to corporate companies.

Regarding transparency about this information, allow me to state the following:

Firstly, for the public's information, transparency is part of their human rights so information must be obtained and accessed by tender participants.

Secondly, this transparency of information may actually be implemented by means of notices broadcast in the mass media, where clear requirements will be set.

Thirdly, Regulation No. IX.F.1 of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) dated Jan. 24, 1996 on bidding in a tender may be made an important reference regarding the transparency of information in the context of a tender.

Fourthly, full disclosure in conjunction with information transparency will not lure anybody to fall into the abyss of corruption, collusion and nepotism. It is well understood that corruption, collusion and nepotism have removed the principle of equity in business opportunities and successfully sent our economy into a deep crisis.

Fifthly, it is only proper that the IBRA should give a transparent explanation to the chairperson of the oversight committee and also other tender participants dissatisfied with the treatment of the IBRA in the context of the above-mentioned corporate credit portfolio tender. In this way, the IBRA can, in future, execute a tender fairly and openly so that whatever the outcome of the tender, all parties concerned can accept it.

BUDI PURNOMO

Jakarta