Miranda new BI senior deputy governor
Tony Hotland, Jakarta
Miranda Swaray Goeltom was named on Tuesday night as the new senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, a key post which will have a greater role in determining central bank policies.
The decision was made during a closed-door meeting at the House of Representatives Commission IX on financial affairs.
Commission chairman Emir Moeis said that Miranda won 41 votes, while her rivals Sunaryo Budi Rochadi (head of the Bank Indonesia office in Tokyo) got 12 votes and Hartadi Agus Sarwono (currently a deputy governor at Bank Indonesia) one vote.
"Miranda was chosen because she has been quite clear in explaining her vision and mission ... She seems to be more capable," he announced publicly.
The three made presentations at the commission during the day before the legislators started voting.
Miranda will replace Anwar Nasution, whose five-year term will expire on July 27.
In her presentation at the House, Miranda said that her top priority would be to seek ways to help stabilize the embattled rupiah.
The local unit has dropped sharply against the U.S. dollar over the past month, due in large part to economic and political uncertainty at home as well as a possible hike in U.S. interest rates.
The continual slide is creating new worries about the economy as it could eventually lead to stronger inflationary pressure and slower economic growth.
Miranda first took a senior position at the central bank in 1997 as a director, and two years later was elected deputy governor during a time when Bank Indonesia first became an independent central bank.
But during her tenure at Bank Indonesia, the central bank's reputation was at its lowest point, particularly after the way it handled the massive bank bailout during the late 1990s financial crisis, which according to the Supreme Audit Agency had been mostly abused by the banks. The taxpayers now have been asked to cover those trillions of rupiah in losses.
Meanwhile, three non-governmental organizations; Transparency International Indonesia, the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) and the Professional Society all opposed the appointment of Miranda as well as the two other candidates, saying that none of them had the qualities in terms of integrity, expertise and experience as required by the central bank law.
"BI needs a "super" senior deputy governor to handle the current economic problems, as well as to monitor vulnerable banks and curb the rise in non-performing loans," Dradjad Wibowo of Indef told reporters in front of the Commission IX meeting room while the candidates were making their presentations.
He said that they were demanding that the government cancel the selection process and come up with more qualified people. By law, the President proposes a list of candidates for the House to select.
But Dradjat declined to mention any further details about the candidates' integrity, which has become a concern amid reports of bribes being exchanged in the selection process.
Profile:
Miranda Swaray Goeltom
Born in Jakarta, June 19, 1949.
Master's (1990) and Doctoral (1992) degrees in Economics from Boston University, USA. Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Indonesia (1975).
1993-1998: Assistant Deputy at the Office of Coordinating Minister for Economic, Financial, and Developmental Supervision
1997: Director at BI
1998: President of PT Bank Uppindo
A deputy governor of BI (May 1999) for a four-year term. President Megawati proposed her in 2003 to replace then BI Governor Sjahril Sabirin, but she lost to Burhanuddin Abdullah.
2004-present: Chief Commissioner at RaboBank