INDONESIA's FUTURE WITH IMF PROVING HAZY 
Date: 6 June, 2002 By: Asia Pulse/Antara

NUSA DUA, Bali - Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro Jakti, says the government has not yet decided to stop cooperating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"There has been no official statement saying the government wants to stop cooperating with the IMF," he said on the sidelines of the fourth Prepatory Meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Earlier, State Minister for National Development and Planning Kwik Kian Gie urged the government to terminate its contract with the IMF by November. Commenting on Kwik's statement, Dorodjatun said the government usually issues official statements on specific issues after cabinet meetings and so far the government had not made any statement on ending its cooperation with the IMF.

He admitted members of the cabinet were not always united in their views on given issues. Differences of opinion often marked discussions within the cabinet that was made up of people from different political parties, he added.

"But the official government's stance on a specific issue is normally announced after a cabinet meeting, and so far the cabinet has not yet decided on the cooperation with the IMF," he said.

He affirmed that the government would continue to implement the economic reform program agreed on with the IMF until 2003. The government has yet to decide whether to stop or continue its cooperation with the IMF beyond next year, he said.

In a similar vein, Finance Minister Budiono said the Indonesian government would continue to carry out its IMF-sanctioned economic-recovery program until 2003. "After that, we will think about steps we must take next. We will have to observe the economic situation in 2003, one and a half years from now," he said.

Budiono said he respected different opinions about the virtues of cooperation with the Washington-based multinational financing agency. "We acknowledge everybody's right to differ in views," he said.

In a statement sharply criticizing the IMF, Kwik said the Fund was "colonizing" the Indonesian economy instead of helping the government overcome its economic problems. He said the Fund had barred Indonesia from using second-line investment money from the IMF's US$400 million bailout funds.

The Fund had said the second-line investment money could only be used when the government had run out of foreign-exchange reserves. Meanwhile, Indonesia had to pay interest on the $400 billion bailout funds, which were part of the IMF's commitment of $5 billion to help Indonesia recover from its economic crisis.

(Asia Pulse/Antara)

From: http://www.atimes.com/se-asia/DF06Ae01.html