'€œToday we installed a new BKKBN head. As we know, this post has been vacant for eight months, since Oct. 1, 2014,'€ she said as quoted by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Since the position was vacant for such a long time, the minister said a lot of work that was strategic in accelerating progress toward achieving Indonesia'€™s family planning and population control program targets, including family development programs, could not run well.

'€œWith the new BKKBN head, I hope the implementation of the demography, family planning and family development program can run faster,'€ she said.

Nila said he hoped Indonesia'€™s population growth -- around 1.49 percent or still quite high according to the 2010 Population Census -- could be reduced to a level in line with the National Mid Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2015-2016.

Prior to his selection, Surya was a member of the House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) party. Since 2009, he served as a House member for Commission IX overseeing health, demography, labor and transmigration affairs.

In his political career, Surya was appointed leader of special committees or Pansus involved in the deliberation of several bills, in particular the national social security system (SJSN) along with several laws on domestic violence, medicine, labor protection and child protection.

Surya was one of the initiators of the amendment draft bill of Law No.23/1992 on health and the amendment draft bill of Law No.10/1992 on demography and prosperous families.

He was selected as the BKKBN head through an open bidding process held by the Health Ministry, defeating four other candidates. (ebf)

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