IN spite of the fact that much of its work is not yet completed, the government officially announced the closure of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) on Friday last week. In his final speech, IBRA Chairman Syafruddin Arsyad Temenggung claimed that the agency was the supermost institution of its kind in the world.

Speaking from the same podium, Finance Minister Boediono took a very different tack. Without any mention of praise, the mi