House likely to delay decision on BI deputy governors

Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives is likely to delay the appointment of three new Bank Indonesia deputy governors, as legislators will start a month-long recess on Wednesday.

House Commission IX on state budget and finance was supposed to have completed the selection process no later than Oct. 17.

Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin was clearly disappointed with the delay, saying that according to the existing central bank law, the House should have wrapped up its selection process three weeks after the list of candidates had been submitted to the House.

"That's what the law says, but after submitting the list so long ago, (it) has still been delayed anyway. I cannot understand this," Sjahril said, as quoted by Antara.

Sjahril submitted to the House in February a list of candidates comprising nine names, to replace Achwan and Dono Iskandar, whose terms ended earlier this year, and Burhanuddin Abdullah, who left the central bank to join the cabinet team of the previous Abdurahman Wahid administration.

As Bank Indonesia is facing an uphill task in curbing inflation, stabilizing the rupiah and restructuring the ailing banking sector, a delay in the appointment of key Bank Indonesia personnel will be a fresh blow, analysts have said.

Some legislators said that the selection process turned out to take much longer than anticipated as they had also been preoccupied with the need to pass several crucial bills before the start of the recess.

So far, the House has only completed the "fit and proper test" on four of the nine candidates.

"The delay will cast a shadow on BI's performance in carrying out its duties," legislator Antony Z. Abidin told Antara.

"There are worries that BI will not perform properly because of this unfinished business," he said on Sunday.

Antony also said that certain political parties "had been maneuvering" in order to have influence on the independent central bank to further their political ends.

"It appears that some elements of the House, including political parties, have felt the need to interfere with the central bank, which has prevented the House from wrapping up the selection process on time," he said.