VP BOEDIONO NOT TO RESIGN

Jakarta, March 5 (ANTARA) - Vice President Boediono said he did not want to be irresponsible (regarding the Bank Century bailout case) although several parties had called for his resignation.

"If I meet the demand to resign, I will go down in history
as an irresponsible leader," Boediono said at a press conference at his office here on Friday.

He made the statement in response to the results of the House plenary session on the Bank Century bailout case.

The press conference was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

The government provided a bailout amounting to Rp6.7 trillion for ailing Bank Century during the global financial crisis in late 2008.

A majority of House of Representatives (DPR) members said in a vote on Wednesday that violations had happened in the Bank Century bailout.

Of the 537 members attending the plenary session, 325 voted for "Option C" (a statement ridiculing the bailout) and the other 212 for "Option A" (a statement justifying the bailout).

Boediono said, he was aware he was holding a political position, therefore he had to be ready any time to face political challenges.

According to him, if he resigned from the vice presidential post, he would be betraying the trust given to him by the president (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono), and therefore he would not leave him (the president).

"However, I don't mean to say that as a vice president I cannot be dismissed in the middle of my term of office," he said.

But Boediono also said, "if a majority of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) members want it, and if all the constitutional and other legal conditions are met, I will abide by whatever the MPR decides."
"Let us maintain and uphold our democracy so it will develop further," he said.

In addition, Boediono also asked other elements to work together to keep the main principles of respect for human rights by meeting the principle of presumption of innocence.

Boediono also asked that Indonesian democracy should not be used to make a scene of mass and show of funding power.

"Only then we can work together for the future of Indonesia's progress," he added.