hief economic advisor to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Sofjan Wanandi, said on Friday that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Kalla had considered several figures to nominate as governor of Bank Indonesia, as incumbent Agus Martowardojo is set to complete his term in May.
The figures include National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, former finance minister Chatib Basri, Agus, the incumbent, and BI deputy governor Perry Warjiyo.
“But, there is no [official] decision yet,” Sofjan said, adding that Jokowi and Kalla had already discussed the names and the President had even learned the competency of each name.
Sofjan said the government needed to consider global economic uncertainty, marked by falling share prices at the New York Stock Exchange and the expected Federal Reserve key rate increase, in deciding who should become the central bank's boss.
“The uncertainty should be monitored to minimize the impact to the Indonesian economy,” he said at the Presidential Palace as reported by tempo.co.
He added that the BI governor should also be able to cooperate with the finance minister and the Financial Services Authority to synergize fiscal and monetary policy.
Under the existing regulations, President Jokowi is required to nominate BI candidates, who are then reviewed by the House of Representatives. The candidate names should be in the House’s hand by late February.
Jokowi previously said the BI governor “should be able to be deal with macroeconomic and monetary aspects and inflation, as well as being trusted by the public.” (bbn)
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