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awmakers are yet to make a decision regarding the appointment of the new Bank Indonesia (BI) senior deputy governor, saying the issue needed more time.

At a meeting in Jakarta late on Wednesday, they agreed to adjourn the meeting until Sept. 16.

Most factions within the House's Commission XI, which oversees banking and finance, said they needed more time to deliberate before taking any decision, according to Golkar Party politician Harry Azhar Azis.

'We have not decided on anyone yet because we think it is too early to take a decision on such an important issue. So we will hold another meeting on Sept. 16,' Harry, who currently serves as deputy chairperson of the commission, said at the House on Wednesday.

The commission held fit-and-proper tests just a day before, which saw lawmakers grilling the two candidates: Mirza Adityaswara, executive chairperson of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), and Anton Hermanto Gunawan, chief economist at Bank Danamon. However, only a handful of the 50 commission members attended the five-hour-long tests.

Indah Kurnia, lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), lamented the delay, saying that the other lawmakers should have attended to assist in the decision making.

Meanwhile, Vera Febyanthi from the Democratic Party insisted that her faction had come to a decision. 'We were ready tonight, but we were forced to delay because some factions were absent,' she said.

Mirza and Anton were nominated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to fill the position of senior deputy governor, which has been vacant since 2010 when Darmin Nasution assumed BI's top job as its governor.

High hopes are placed upon the senior deputy governor-to-be as he is expected to help the central bank weather the current economic challenges of looming inflation and the weakening rupiah. When elected, Mirza or Anton will join the current BI team led by Agus Martowardojo and will be accompanied by four deputies: Halim Alamsyah, Hendar, Perry Warjiyo and Ronald Waas.

Commenting on the delay, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) economist A. Tony Prasetiantono said the House would probably ask for another candidate to provide them with more options. 'I heard that [the lawmakers] were somewhat 'uncomfortable' with the two candidates.'

Separately, Ahmad Erani Yustika, economist with the Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef), said that the new executive must assist BI better in spurring economic growth, following the transfer of BI's banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in 2014.

'BI's two main jobs are to control inflation and stabilize the currency, but lately it seems that BI is more fixated on the currency [...] this is at the expense of economic growth,' he said when contacted on the telephone.

He argued that higher BI rates had led to increases in prime lending rates, which resulted in lower investment and employment.

'With the new senior deputy governor, BI must formulate quality economic policies, which support the real sector. Higher employment is one of the economic indicators,' he said.

Meanwhile, National Banks Association (Perbanas) chairman Sigit Pramono said he did not have 'grandiose' wishes for the future new team, insisting that it must first address current problems and prevent a major crisis.

'It will gain public trust once it is able to contain the situation. Any future policies will be easier to execute by then,' he said.