House set to announce new Bank Indonesia governor
Dadan Wijaksana The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The House of Representatives is scheduled to select the new governor of Bank Indonesia on Tuesday, following a "fit-and- proper test" of the three candidates that lasted until late on Monday.
Max Muin, chairman of House Commission IX for financial affairs, which conducted the test, said the commission was committed to selecting the new governor before a planned plenary meeting of the House on Tuesday.
"We will wrap up the process tonight (Monday night). Following the fit-and-proper test of all the candidates, we are going to have an internal meeting to determine the winner," Max said, adding that the meeting would start at about 10 p.m.
He brushed aside the possibility of any delays, saying: "The target is for us (the commission) to present one name at the plenary session tomorrow (Tuesday). So we should have the winner's name before that. We will work through until dawn if we have to."
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the screening of the three candidates -- Miranda S. Goeltom, Cyrillius Harinowo and Burhanuddin Abdullah.
The names of the candidates were submitted to the House by President Megawati Soekarnoputri in February. Miranda is currently a deputy governor of the central bank, and the other two candidates have both served in senior positions with the bank.
The winning candidate will replace Sjahril Sabirin, whose tenure ends on May 17. Sjahril, who replaced Sudradjat Djiwandono, has held the post since 1998.
It was unclear as of late on Monday who would take over the highest post in the country's monetary authority. But it has been widely expected that the selection process will be marked by political wrangling between factions on the commission.
Anyone who witnessed the fit-and-proper tests would likely agree that they were a mere formality and unlikely to play a crucial role in determining the commission's choice.
Miranda, for example, received more than 120 questions but was only given about 40 minutes to answer the questions during a six- hour hearing.
Nevertheless, of the three nominees Miranda is seen as the front-runner because she reportedly has the backing of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the country's largest party.
Miranda, however, will be challenged by Burhanuddin, a former chief economics minister in the previous administration who appears to have the backing of the Islamic-based factions.
The final choice could depend on which way the Golkar Party, the second largest party in the country, leans.
Cyrillius, despite being highly respected as a professional, seems to have little chance because of a lack of political support.
But with Golkar's votes hanging in the balance, any of the three nominees has a chance of leading the central bank.