http://www.theage.com.au/world/vote-sparks-pandemonium-in-indonesian-parliament-20100302-pgaz.html
Vote sparks pandemonium in Indonesian Parliament TOM ALLARD,JAKARTA March 3, 2010 Indonesian MPs jostle in parliament after the vote. Photo: Reuters INDONESIA'S Parliament erupted in wild scenes yesterday after its speaker delayed a vote on the controversial bail-out of Bank Century that was expected to censure President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's vice-president and finance minister. Parliamentarians angrily rushed the speaker, Marzuki Alie, a senior member of President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party, after he took the decision. Pushing and shoving ensued between rival members of the legislature as security personnel were forced to escort Mr Marzuki from the chamber. Adding to the drama, police turned water canons on a small but rowdy group of protesters at the parliament gates. The $720 million financial rescue of Bank Century has been contentious. The small bank only went down because of embezzlement, while the amount used to bail it out increased tenfold in mysterious circumstances. While there were allegations that some of the bail-out found its way to the re-election campaign of President Yudhoyono last year, they were never proved after a long parliamentary inquiry. Many observers view the saga as a cynical attempt by the old, corrupt business and civil service elites to unseat Vice-President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Despite being ensnared in the bail-out, both are seen as honest technocrats prepared to make hard decisions to reform Indonesia's corrupt bureaucracy and inefficient economy. The parliamentary inquiry was more notable for its political theatrics than forensic analysis of Bank Century, with most attention focused on whether President Yudhoyono's coalition parties would turn against him. In the end, his two biggest allies, Golkar and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), jumped ship, agreeing with a majority of parties that there were law violations and probable corruption in both the decision to undertake the bail-out and in its implementation. The majority called for an investigation of whether political parties benefited from the bail-out and named Dr Boediono and Dr Indrawati, among others, as responsible for the mess. In a televised address on Monday evening, President Yudhoyono defended the bail-out, which occurred at the time of the financial crisis in 2008. He said it was necessary to stop a financial contagion bringing down the entire Indonesian system. The delay in the vote gives President Yudhoyono another day to get Golkar and PKS back on board or woo another party. Democrat Party officials have been working hard to convince the Gerindra Party of the former special forces Kopassus commander Prabowo Subianto to back them. President Yudhoyono held talks recently with Prabowo, a former son-in-law of the late dictator Suharto, who was forced from his post after Kopassus was found to have kidnapped and killed student activists. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
