[stop-imf] Minister Urges Indonesia Govt to Revoke Contracts With IMF

[Robert Weissman]

Minister Urges Indonesia Govt to Revoke Contracts With IMF

JAKARTA, April 23 Asia Pulse/Antara - A cabinet minister yesterday urged
the
goverment not to hesitate in immediately revoking its contracts with the
International Monetary Fund [IMF].

"We don't need to spend too much time on making the decision because the
sooner we make it, the sooner we will enjoy the advantages. So, we don't
need
to worry about how we do it," State Minister of National Development
Planning
Kwik Kian Gie said.

He argued that even the People's Consultative Assembly [MPR],
Indonesia's
highest law-making body, had decided that Indonesia's contracts with the
IMF
should be discontinued some time later this year.

There was no point in waiting until year's end as it would be more
advantageous to cut off relations with the IMF forthwith, Kwik said,
adding
that Indonesia's ties with the IMF were only disturbing the Indonesian
economy.

By discontinuing cooperation with the IMF, Kwik said the government
would be
able to reduce the amount of its debts to the IMF, which currently stood
at
US$8 billion.

The loans given by the IMF have reached US$12 billion and Indonesia has
paid
back about US$4 billion since the first quarter of year 2001. The
government
has also paid the interest on the loans which amounted US$1.7 billion.

He said the IMF loans had never been used as they were only meant to add
to
the country's foreign exchange reserves.

The IMF loans were supposed to be used only when the reserves were
depleted
but actually Indonesia had been recording surplus reserves so that the
country was able to gain US$22 billion without the help of IMF loans, he
saaid.

"So, what's the use of continuing the contracts with the IMF," said
Kwik, who
is also head of the National Planning Board (Bappenas).

Kwik said IMF's study on Indonesia's five-year economic development plan
was
not better compared to the one made by Bappenas.

The five-year plan drawn up by Bappenas, he said, was more comprehensive
and
realistic than the IMF's plan as set forth in Letters of Intent.

A spokesman of the Finance Ministry, Anggito Abimanyu, said the
government
had not yet decided to abandon its contracts with the IMF.

The decision on those questions, he said, would be made by a cabinet meeting.