House to select BPK, BI officials<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives finance commission, most of whose
\nmembers are unlikely to be reelected, appears in no rush to
\ncomplete its long list of outstanding tasks in the remaining two
\nsessions of the current House.<\/p>\n
The commission will instead focus more on the selection of a
\nnew chairman and members of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and a
\nsenior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, legislators said on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
\"With so much to do and so little time to do it in, priority,
\nI think, will be given to those issues that are most urgent.<\/p>\n
\"The selection of the BPK members and a BI senior deputy
\ngovernor fits this criteria,\" Paskah Suzetta, deputy chairman of
\nthe commission, said, adding that the commission would be more
\nflexible about other issues.<\/p>\n
While agreeing that many of the current members had little
\nchance of getting reelected, \"that does not mean that we will be
\nin a rush to complete everything that is currently waiting in the
\npipeline,\" Paskah said.<\/p>\n
Many of the current members of the House will no longer
\nfeature in the new House to be formed in October based on the
\nresults of the April 5 legislative election.<\/p>\n
The current session will end in the middle of July, while the
\nlast session will open in the middle of August. With only two
\nsessions left, the current members of the commission are now
\nfacing an uphill task to wrap up at least five major issues that
\nare already in the pipeline.<\/p>\n
Aside from the BPK and BI appointments, also high on the
\nagenda are the sales of majority stakes in Bank Permata and Bank
\nNegara Indonesia (BNI), and the privatization of other state-
\nowned firms including Merpati Nusantara Airlines.<\/p>\n
There are fears that the outgoing legislators will use the
\namount of outstanding business as an excuse for seeking bribes
\nfrom state officials.<\/p>\n
However, Paskah said that any decisions taken by the
\ncommission would be based on its significance, and nothing else.<\/p>\n
\"If we find that the policies are of less significance, then
\nwhy bother?. If necessary, we won't mind passing them on to the
\nincoming lawmakers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another senior legislator, Max Moein, agreed that the
\npriorities for the current session would be the selection of the
\nBPK members and chairman, as well as a senior deputy governor of
\nBI to replace Anwar Nasution.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has proposed three candidates
\nfor the BI post -- Miranda Goeltom (a former deputy governor of
\nBank Indonesia), Budi Rochadi (the head of Bank Indonesia's
\noffice in Tokyo), and Hartadi A. Sarwono (currently a deputy
\ngovernor).<\/p>\n
Max said that the selection process was expected to be
\nfinalized by the end of the month.<\/p>\n
As for the BPK, the commission is scheduled to hold selection
\nhearings to pick 21 out of a total of 61 candidates between May
\n17 and May 19, he added. The names will then be submitted to the
\nPresident, who will choose seven of them.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-to-select-bpk-bi-officials-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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