Boediono and Sri Mulyani
After successfully taming the Golkar Party by ousting Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the government may still face more baying political wolves insisting another head must roll.
Mulyani and Vice President Boediono have been the target of attacks from legislators at the House of Representatives in the aftermath of the legislative body’s investigation into the Bank Century bailout case.
During a plenary session in early March, House legislators deemed Mulyani and Boediono responsible for the bailout that ten-folded to Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million), because it was them who authorized the bailout in November 2008, at which time the vice president was Bank Indonesia governor.
Speculations were then rife that Mulyani could be removed, while Boediono could be impeached.
In the latest development, Mulyani has accepted the job offer from the World Bank and will end her term as a minister starting in June. Many critics believe Mulyani’s removal is a political compromise between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and one of his coalition partners, the Golkar Party, whose chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, has been involved in numerous public spats with Mulyani.
Golkar executive Priyo Budi Santoso denied an agreement had taken place between Yudhoyono and Aburizal to oust Mulyani. However, he admitted Mulyani’s departure could somewhat “politically freeze” the implications of the Bank Century case against her and Boediono.
However, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Secretary General Anis Matta said calls that Mulyani’s removal was a favorable exit strategy were wrong.
“If we take a look into the Bank Century case, the biggest responsibility falls on Pak Boediono. He has more responsibility than that of Sri Mulyani,” Anis told reporters at the House in Jakarta on Friday.
Anis also disagreed with Priyo’s remarks for freezing the Bank Century case politically.
“Any political implication, including the right for the legislative body to express its opinion for an impeachment, will depend heavily on the results of the supervision conducted by a House monitoring team,” he said.
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