YLBHI files petition against R&D policy

YLBHI files petition against R&D policy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) filed a petition
with the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review a government policy
aimed at allowing cooperative debtors to walk free from criminal
chares.

YLBHI said in a media release that the ruling, which was
contained within a presidential instruction (Inpres), had to be
annulled because it clearly ran contrary to existing legislation.

"We ask the Supreme Court to declare the Inpres invalid and
legally flawed, and therefore annulled," YLBHI said in the
release.

The policy refers to Presidential Instruction No.8/2002 issued
by President Megawati Soekarnoputri late last year, which grants
former bank owners release and discharge (R&D) status. As such it
would effectively clear them from any criminal indictments over
past banking crimes.

Although YLBHI's move was the first legal step ever to
manifest objection over the policy, opposition to it has been on
the rise lately, from various elements in society, including
academics, legal experts, legislators and others.

In fact, YLBHI's remarks came less than a week after a
respected legal institution also expressed such an objection. The
National Legal Commission (KHN) issued last weekend a statement
urging the government to annul the controversial policy for the
same reason.

YLBHI pointed out at least three regulations that the Inpres
had violated, namely Law No. 8/1981 on the Criminal Code, Law No.
20/2001 on the eradication of corruption and Inpres No.8/2002 on
equality before the law.

While the first says that the right to terminate an indictment
lies only with the attorney general and not the president, the
second states that a person cannot be freed from criminal charges
simply because one has settled one's debts with the state.

The Presidential Decree does not refer to specific debtors,
but according to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA),
five debtors had so far managed to settle their debts and were
thus eligible to receive R&D status.

They are: Sudwikatmono, Ibrahim Risjad, The Nin King, Hendra
Liem and Sudono Salim. They are among 35 debtors who received Rp
144.5 trillion-worth of state funds issued by the central bank
during the financial crisis, under the liquidity support loans
(BLBI) program.

Many of the former bank owners were later accused by the
Supreme Audit Agency of misuse of most of the bailout funds.