The threat to our economy

The threat to our economy

Bank Indonesia Governor Syahril Sabirin visited Washington
D.C. recently to lobby the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund for speedy disbursement of financial aid to
Indonesia. It seems, however, that his effort was ineffective.
Both those international financial institutions remained
steadfast in their insistence on a full and transparent
disclosure soon of the Bank Bali scandal. They also insisted that
the unabridged audit report of PricewaterhouseCoopers regarding
the case must be made public forthwith.

Managing Indonesia's economy is not an easy job, with mostly
internal factors hampering effective measures. Lack of political
will on the part of our authorities to set aside their narrow
interests aside for the nation's sake is a major reason of the
decline of the Habibie administration's credibility at present.

It does not end there. The Attorney General's Office's
discontinuation of its probe into suspected acts of malfeasance
in a number of foundations connected to former president Soeharto
poses a huge challenge to President B.J. Habibie as a
presidential candidate.

All these issues have a great influence on Indonesia's social,
political and economic conditions. For this reason concrete steps
are needed to revive our economy and restructure our banking
system. Our people need proof, not mere promises or lip service.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta