Govt stance hampers OJK bill deliberation: Lawmakers

Lawmakers are highly doubtful that the deliberation of the Financial Service Authority (OJK) bill, which is currently under way, will meet its year-end deadline as previously stated.

They reasoned that it was because the current deliberation had been stalled after the government insisted on installing two central bank officials on the OJK commissioners’ council, which is tasked with settling
future financial disputes.

“Their inclusion could later jeopardize the council’s independence and thus negate the whole idea of forming the OJK,” Harry Azhar Aziz, the House’s bank and finance commission deputy speaker said as quoted by Tempointeraktif news portal Saturday.

The head of the OJK bill deliberation special committee, Nusron Wahid, said the council should exist no longer than six months after the bill waspassed into law and therefore suggested that serious efforts should be made to break the ice.

The OJK is projected to take over almost three-quarters of the current authority of the central bank. It is expected to become the country’s financial watchdog and manager at the same time.

The idea of forming the OJK emerged several years ago after serious consideration of the danger of giving the central bank too much authority and therefore the division of authority should be a top priority.