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.