Wahid's brother quits top job

President Wahid and family

The brother of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is at the centre of a row over alleged nepotism, is leaving his job at the country's powerful bank restructuring agency.

Hasyim Wahid's appointment as an "expert adviser" to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) is already being investigated by the country's corruption watchdog.

The controversy comes amid charges Indonesia is returning to the nepotism which was rife under former President Suharto.

Cronyism was rife under Suharto

Hasyim Wahid, 47, who helps Ibra recover money from bad debtors, said he planned to leave on 1 June.

But he rejected allegations of nepotism, saying he was quitting because he could not do his job properly as a result of the publicity.

And he accused the president's rivals of stirring up the controversy.

"I am no longer effective as my cover is blown ... not because of all these accusations of nepotism," he told Reuters.

Concerns

Hasyim Wahid said that before the outcry he used to be able to track directors of indebted companies travelling overseas to dispose of their assets.

"I can't do that anymore because they now know me," he added.

Hasyim Wahid joined the agency six months ago, but his appointment was only recently highlighted in the press.

It has fuelled concerns that President Wahid is putting allies into powerful posts and that political manoeuvring is undermining Ibra's work.

The agency was set up to handle the ailing Indonesian banking system after the Asian financial crisis.

Success

Hasyim Wahid said that since joining Ibra he had managed to get nine of the country's 20 largest debtors to commit to repayments.

"All the big debtors have money to repay a large part of their debts. Those debts represent 30-40% of the country's total bad debts," he added.

The debtors included big conglomerates like the Salim Group, Humpuss Group, Lippo Group and Gajah Tunggal Group, he said.

Restructuring Indonesia's $65bn private debt burden is seen as a key prerequisite for sustained recovery in Indonesia.