REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - No official statement is issued over a billion USD loan for International Monetary Fund (IMF) yet. Presidential Staff for Economy, Firmanzah, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) took a careful step over the plan as it was related to other factors.

The first factor, he said, was the mechanism for the approval of the loan. The President has not decided yet over the involvement of the House of the Representatives. "If the House is involved, there will be some political factor," he said.

The second, he continued, was the domestic factor. Even though Indonesia is a member of G20, the welfare is not distributed evenly. The next factor is that Indonesia has paid all its debt to IMF. Indonesia once received IMF loans in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998. Loan for IMF reflects the nation's financial stability.

"It is not final. We still consider this matter in the last cabinet meeting," Firmanzah said on Tuesday.

The Minister of Finance, Agus Martowardojo, last week said government had finished the internal process over the loan for IMF. The minister ensured that government would give a loan for IMF in around a billion USD.

A member of House from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's faction, Dolfie OFP, said government's plan to take the fund from Bank Indonesia was absurd. 

"It violates the law. BI is an independent institution. It cannot be interfered," Dolfie said.

Considering that government region was fiscal area, he explained, it could not penetrate monetary area which belong to BI. Also, the revised budget 2012 is still deficit in around 190 trillion IDR.

Even more, Indonesia still has some disadvantaged areas which need some funds. He said, about 183 disadvantaged areas came to the House asking for the 100 billion IDR budget for each region.

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