Indonesian President Comment on Bank Century Bailout Case

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has commented on the Bank Century bailout case for the first time, saying that it is being handled by the anticorruption court but a policy cannot be tried. President Yudhoyono was quoted by Kompas daily on Tuesday as saying that none of state officials dare to make any policy if it can be tried. This leading Indonesian newspaper also noted that it was the head of state's first statement on the bailout of Bank Century (now Bank Mutiara) case after the anti-corruption court tried Budi Mulya, former Bank Indonesia's deputy governor, as defendant last Thursday. However, if the policies were wrongly implemented for the sake of vested interests, including personal interest of those in charge, they were subject to criminal law, he said. President Yudhoyono further said he was in Peru when the decision to bailout the troubled Bank Century was made in November 2008. He was neither reported nor asked to give his opinion about the decision, he said as quoted by Kompas. In connection with this Bank Century bailout scandal, Vice President Boediono had repeatedly refused to attend a hearing with the House of Representatives' (DPR) team supervising the revelation of the case as he did on February 19. The Vice President's spokesman Yopie Hidayat had said Boediono's stance remained unchanged due to the fact that the DPR had completed the political process of the case and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was working on it. Boediono was summoned by the House's monitoring team, in his capacity as the former Bank Indonesia governor. Yopie added that Boediono respected the House and the duties of members of parliament, but he also respected the recommendations of the DPR's plenary session on its special inquiry into the Bank Century bailout, saying that this case was handled by law enforcers. (*)