House clears the way for Miranda despite controversy

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta

At a plenary session marred by furious protests led by lawmakers from the Reform faction, was the House of Representatives approved the appointment of Miranda S. Goeltom as the new senior deputy governor of the central bank.

Although Miranda secured the second-highest post at Bank Indonesia (BI), the process was not a smooth one, as the decision had to be taken through a voting mechanism following a deadlock.

The protests, which basically centered on demands from some lawmakers for clarification over reports questioning Miranda's integrity, became so heated that Tosary Widjaja -- who presided over the meeting -- called for a break to ease the tension and accommodate lobbying efforts.

During the break, leaders from all nine factions discussed the matter in a closed-door meeting that lasted about 15 minutes. Tosary resumed the session and announced that the final decision would be made by vote.

The vote clearly favored Miranda, with 140 lawmakers approving her appointment, far outnumbering the 16 who voted against it. The remaining 9 abstained.

Although 254 lawmakers signed the attendance list -- 3 more than the quorum -- a mere 165 lawmakers were present for the vote. The vote was still valid according to House regulations, which declares a decision valid if it garners majority votes.

Monday's vote cleared Miranda's way to return to the central bank. Miranda has had a prominent decision-making role at the bank since 1997, until her departure last year as her term ended.

"What we want is clarification from Miranda over allegations questioning her credibility and ethics. This is important so Miranda does not feel pressure while serving her post for the next five years," Reform faction lawmaker Hakam Naja told the session.

Later, Hakam told reporters that allegations were afloat that Miranda had violated central bank regulations during her last post as BI deputy governor.

"For instance, it is reported that she was involved in foreign exchange transactions during her tenure. She has also been accused of signing on as a private partner with a new company.

"We questioned her over these matters during a fit and proper test by (House) Commission IX, but maybe because she was not fully prepared, we did not get satisfying answers," he said.

Miranda was appointed earlier this month by Commission IX on financial affairs -- also through a vote -- to replace Anwar Nasution, whose five-year term will end on July 27. She beat out two other candidates: Budi Rochadi, head of the BI representative office in Tokyo, and BI deputy Hartadi A. Sarwono.

Non-governmental organizations Transparency International Indonesia, the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance and the Professional Society Grouping said previously that the three candidates were not fit for the post for various reasons, including a doubt over their integrity.