'BI governor should not be politician'<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives sent a strong warning to President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri on Friday not to include politicians on
\nthe list of candidates for the Bank Indonesia governorship as
\nthis would contravene the law.<\/p>\n
\"The law says that no members of political parties are allowed
\n(to be appointed). So, let's leave it that way,\" House Speaker
\nAkbar Tandjung said, while adding that he had yet to receive the
\nlist of candidates.<\/p>\n
Under Law No. 23\/1999 on Bank Indonesia, the president has to
\nsubmit three candidates to the House, which has the final say in
\nselecting the central bank governor.<\/p>\n
Incumbent Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin will end his
\nterm on May 17. The President has until Monday to submit her list
\nof candidates to the House.<\/p>\n
However, while no candidates have been officially named so
\nfar, rumors that several prominent political figures may be
\nproposed.<\/p>\n
Among these are the current State Minister for State
\nEnterprises Laksamana Sukardi, State Minister for National
\nDevelopment Planning (Bappenas) Kwik Kian Gie and former finance
\nminister Bambang Sudibyo.<\/p>\n
While Laksamana and Kwik are all senior members of Megawati's
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Bambang
\nhas long been associated with the National Mandate Party (PAN).
\nUnless they resign from their parties, they would be ineligible
\nto run for the governorship.<\/p>\n
The selection of the new Bank Indonesia governor has aroused
\nhuge public interest, understandable given that whoever holds the
\npost will have full authority to determine the country's monetary
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
This makes the post so strategic that it is almost
\ninconceivable in today's Indonesia that an appointment will be
\nmade without back-door deals and political haggling.<\/p>\n
This would appear to be why people from outside the central
\nbank are allowed to hold the governorship.<\/p>\n
Of the six governors who have held the post since 1968, three
\nof them came from outside Bank Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Sjahril is among those who emerged from within the central
\nbank as a career officer before being elected governor.<\/p>\n
Sjahril took over in 1998 from Sudradjat Djiwandono. He
\nstarted his career in the central bank in 1969.<\/p>\n
According to Citibank economist Anton Gunawan, the main issue
\nlay not in the question of whether the elected governor came from
\ninside or outside of the central bank, but rather whether he or
\nshe would be independent and could work hand-in-hand with other
\ninstitutions, such as the House and the government.<\/p>\n
\"But above all, he or she has to possess a great deal of
\nknowledge about how to manage monetary policy. This is what
\nshould matter the most,\" Anton told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Although admitting that a person from within the bank would be
\nrelatively more independent as he, or she, would have a strong
\nsense of belonging to the institution, Anton acknowledged the
\nfact that whatever the decision was, it would be more of a
\npolitical decision than an economic one.<\/p>\n
\"That's the tendency at the moment given how strategic the
\nposition is,\" Anton added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bi-governor-should-not-be-politician-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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