The sheep need to take a stand
It never ceases to amaze me that we, the people of Indonesia, are so easily manipulated. I sometimes wonder if all of our minds have been stunted by an education system that teaches us to have neither individual thought nor one ounce of initiative. Perhaps that is why we are led around like a flock of sheep by our leaders and other nations.
What is the Bank Bali incident a smoke screen for? During the uncovering of the Bank Bali scandal, three other serious offenses have come to light.
1. Bank International Indonesia (BII). What made the Widjaja's not fit and proper to keep their position at BII? Was it too much intergroup lending? That is a criminal offense punishable by a jail sentence.
2. Lippo Bank. Where do the Riadys get the money to invest so much in Mega's campaign. If they have it then why didn't they recapitalize their bank? Why was James removed from the presidency of the bank for being unfit and improper, although his father still remains chairman?
3. Cement Cibinong and the case of the missing US$250 million. Does Hashim really expect us to believe the money is still wherever it was supposed to be? With what he borrowed for the purchase of Bank Niaga, he could have bought it three times over, yet he never paid for it.
All three of these scandals taken separately amount to much more than the Bank Bali scam. Isn't it strange that no one cares? In each of these cases government funds were involved. What criteria are we using to make a judgment on what will be deemed corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) and what is not?
There is one day of massive press coverage about these incidents then silence. I wonder why. Was the press told to stop reporting on these incidents? Does neither Bank Indonesia nor the Ministry of Finance care about those abuses? Most important, where are the World Bank and the IMF? Could it be that there is a bit of KKN going on? Why doesn't everyone want an immediate investigation? Should Bank Bali have to take total responsibility for all the wrongdoing that has and still is occurring in Indonesia? Why not investigate every one of these offenses and report on them daily? Why not threaten to cut off aid to Indonesia if everything isn't cleaned up, investigated and treated fairly? Where is the transparency that everyone is talking about when publicly listed companies such as Cement Cibinong's founder and leader make a statement that he will not reveal which bank the missing money is in? Does this mean that the shareholders/creditors have no right to know?
I think it is about time that we people of Indonesia stand up and ask our leaders to be accountable to us, directly. It is everyone's right as a citizen of this country under a democracy to have information given to them. The information should be enough for us to be able to make decisions of our own. At this time we are just being led around by the rings in our noses. When will it stop?
EKO WAHYUDI
Jakarta