AG Called On To Postpone Foreclosure Of AA Assets

Jakarta, Nov 4 (Antara) - Attorney General Basri Arief has been urged to delay foreclosure of PT Asian Agri`s assets until the Supreme Court (MA) issued a decision on its judicial review. Legal expert Romli Atmasasmita made the call in response to the attorney general`s intention to execute foreclosures of 14 firms grouped in PT Asian Agri (AA) in February 2014. According to Romli, the Attorney General`s Office (AGO) needs to urge the MA to speed up the judicial review and issue a decision before the execution of the foreclosure. The problem is that AA has filed a judicial review. Moreover, the court has issued a final and binding verdict on eight of the 14 companies. "The attorney general has to consider the problem that could arise later on if it makes mistakes in foreclosing AA`s assets," the legal expert said. He acknowledged that the attorney general could execute the foreclosure but it could create a new problem if it turned out that the decision on the judicial review was different from the cassation issued previously, while foreclosure had been done. The attorney general`s office can actually study AA`s assets while waiting for the judicial review results to prevent the emergence of a new problem later on, Romli noted. A foreclosure of a company`s assets would have a lot of impacts such as social and economic impacts and damage to Indonesia`s image in the world`s eye, if a decision is not maturely made. Apart from workers` problem, it would also cause damage to the country`s image because the company might have cooperation with overseas counterparts.