House backs Anwar as new BPK chief

House backs Anwar as new BPK chief

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Outgoing Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution has
gained the greatest support from legislators for appointment as
the new chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), according to
a senior lawmaker.

House finance commission chairman Emir Moeis said that the
commission had initially selected three candidates (as required
by the relevant legislation) for the top post in the BPK.

But he said on Wednesday that Anwar had gained the support of
all nine factions represented on the commission.

Anwar's five-year term at the central bank will end on July 26

The other two candidates are former state oil and gas firm PT
Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim, and the relatively little
known Mustopadijaya.

The commission on Wednesday completed the selection of 21
candidates (out of 50 names proposed) for appointment to the new
board of the BPK. The different candidates will be discussed
during a House plenary session on June 6. The list will be
submitted the following day to President Megawati Soekarnopurti,
who will select seven persons to be appointed to the BPK board
(one chairman, one deputy chairman and five members).

Emir said that there was a possibility that Megawati would not
pick Anwar as the new BPK chairman (to replace Satrio B. Judono)
despite his strong backing by lawmakers.

The BPK is in charge of auditing the state budget, the central
bank and other state institutions, including state-owned
companies upon request. While over the past couple of years the
agency has found massive irregularities in the use of state
funds, it has complained about the lack of seriousness on the
part of the government and lawmakers in taking follow-up action
on foot of the BPK's findings.

The BPK has also often been engaged in quite serious disputes
with Bank Indonesia over the findings of audits on BI's financial
performance. The BPK also blamed the central bank for the massive
abuses of liquidity support funds by recipient banks during the
late 1990s financial crisis.

Elsewhere, Emir said that the three candidates in the running
for the deputy chairmanship of the BPK were: Azwar Siregar, Farid
Prawiranegara and Abdullah Zainie. Abdullah chairs the House
budget commission.

Separately, outgoing BPK chief Satrio urged his successor to
continue the internal consolidation process in a bid to boost the
capacity of BPK auditors and improve transparency.