And this was the time when the Brussels Commission of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) was putting in place a new 8 per cent Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) or capital requirement rule.
I have a personal experience, when in the wee hours of a day in April 1993, during the month of Ramadhan, and President Suharto had a habit of working after his meal around 3:30 am, I had a call from him, asking me to become Bank Indonesia Governor in the next Cabinet that he was working on.
I was a bit shocked, aside from awakening to receive a call at an odd hour, and also for his asking me to move to Bank Indonesia when I had served 5 years as a Junior Minister of Trade. Frankly I thought then, that if he wanted me to continue working for him, that he would ask me to become the Minister of Trade, succeeding my senior, the late Dr Arifin Siregar.
But instead, he wanted me to head the central bank. So, I was trying to argue by saying that I would do as he wish, but I pointed out that there are a lot of problems there. And he asked me, what are they? I told him: problem banks with bad debts.
Certainly, I was not aware of his clear thinking. He said, but you are a monetary and banking expert, and after all they are interconnected, are they not? Certainly, I lost the argument with an economically-literate President. So, I just said, Yes Sir, you are right. I will do as you wish Pak and thank you for entrusting me with the new assignment.
Then he hung up, and that was it. Well, I was right: I did face huge problems, especially later in 1997 when the Asian Financial Crisis struck, starting from the devastation of the Thai Baht and its effect on Indonesia. The rest is history.
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In a way I am grateful to the Lord for giving me all these chances to test my knowledge in International Trade, Monetary Economics and Finance, by letting me served as Junior Minister of Trade for five years with good experience in negotiating trade matters under the arrangement of the General Agreement Tariff and Trade (GATT) in Uruguay and Tokyo Rounds, preparing the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), that was established in the ministerial meetings at Marrakech, Morocco in 1993, when I already moved to Bank Indonesia.
So, indeed I am grateful for having acquired many experiences and knowledge in these positions and in the National Planning Agency (BAPPENAS) previously. All of them would later help me considerably in my teaching different courses at RSIS, NTU.