Miranda must work closely with her boss: Observers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Miranda S. Goeltom, the newly elected Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor, must be able to demonstrate the ability to coordinate with other members of the board of governors to help ensure the central bank's credibility remains intact.
With Bank Indonesia's credibility being put severely to the test at the moment by the tumult engulfing the rupiah, a failure to work effectively as a team, especially with governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, would be the last thing the market needed, analysts said on Wednesday.
Miranda was one of the candidates who lost out to Burhanuddin in the selection process for the central bank governor last year -- which has given rise to suggestions that the two market- friendly figures might find it difficult to get along and work together.
"She will have to have good chemistry with the BI governor as otherwise there would be a twin leadership within the central bank, which would be detrimental to the central bank as the highest authority in setting monetary policy," said Dradjat Wibowo of the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (Indef).
"She has to realize that now she holds the second highest post in BI -- not the highest, which is usually hard to accept," he added.
Miranda pipped two other candidates on Tuesday evening; Budi Rochadi (head of the central bank's representative office in Tokyo) and Hartadi A. Sarwono (a deputy governor of BI), to replace current senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution, whose five-year term ends on July 17.
The markets in general will likely welcome Miranda's selection given her proven deep experience of monetary issues having been involved in the decision-making circle on monetary and banking policies at the central bank since 1997, when she first became a director.
She was a deputy governor when she put herself forward for the BI governor's post.
However, while her expertise and experience are convincing, it is possible rivalry with Burhanuddin that has cast some doubt over the prospects of the two working together.
However Raden Pardede, Danareksa Research Institute director, brushed aside the concerns, saying that both Miranda and Burhanuddin were true professionals who would not let themselves be trapped by such narrow-minded attitudes
"Miranda has long been a part of BI, we should not tell her what to do on the job. She is a professional, she knows how to do her job," Raden said in an interview on MetroTV television on Wednesday.
"But, there should be clearer job descriptions for both the BI governor and senior deputy governor to avoid confusion and overlapping of jurisdictions," Raden said.
Top banker Rudjito also stressed the importance of sound coordination among top officials in the central bank, especially now that the local currency was struggling to keep its head above water.
"The most important thing is to closely work together with other members of the board of governors in safeguarding monetary stability, which is currently under threat with the decline in the rupiah," said Rudjito, who is also the chairman of Association of State Banks.