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House drops BI Law revision, shifts focus to omnibus bill on financial sector
The plan to amend the Bank Indonesia (BI) Law caused concern in the financial markets since it had looked to curtail the central bank's independence and sustain debt monetization to finance the state budget.
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The logo of Bank Indonesia is seen in front of the central bank's building in Jakarta. (JP/Rafaela Chandra)
T
he House of Representatives has dropped deliberation of a bill that would amend the prevailing Bank Indonesia (BI) Law, three lawmakers have said, as the House shifts focus to an omnibus bill on the financial sector to strengthen the country’s financial system.
The omnibus bill includes some of the regulations previously stipulated in the BI bill, such as mandating the central bank to pursue economic growth and employment, on top of its current mandate to maintain the rupiah exchange rate and price stability, according to a draft dated Nov. 20 obtained by The Jakarta Post.
“The amendment of the BI Law has been dropped,” House Commission XI and Legislative Body (Baleg) member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Hendrawan Supratikno, told the Post on Monday. “We are currently focusing on financial sector reform.”
A Baleg meeting last week had yet to decide on whether to cease the BI bill’s deliberation but six out of nine party factions have agreed to discontinue it.
Read also: Bill could push Bank Indonesia into 'dark age'
A BI spokesman did not respond to the Post’s request for a comment on Monday.
The revised BI bill, circulated in early September, had called for the central bank to be in charge of economic growth and employment, supervising banking activities, as well as involving government officials during monetary policy meetings, among other provisions.
