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BANK INDONESIA / BI - JAKARTA. Indonesia's parliament is set to give its initial approval for a new member of the central bank's board late on Monday, once it has completed competency tests for President Prabowo Subianto's nephew Thomas Djiwandono and two other nominees.
The parliament's finance commission on Monday afternoon held what it calls "fit and proper" tests for Thomas, a deputy finance minister, as well as Dicky Kartikoyono, a career central banker.
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The nomination of Thomas has heightened investor concerns about the independence of Bank Indonesia (BI), driving the rupiah to a record low of 16,985 per dollar last week.
It recovered late in the week after BI kept rates unchanged in a bid to shore up the currency.
During the presentation of his mission statement, Thomas said "synergy" between BI, fiscal policy-makers and other authorities "can be accelerated, can be strengthened" but stressed that such efforts would not erode the central bank's autonomy.
He said coordination between monetary and fiscal policy makers can help accelerate BI's monetary policy transmission, but did not give details on â how it would be done.
"We are currently heading towards higher growth, and that is where the importance of fiscal and monetary synergy lies," he said.
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On Friday, the commission interviewed candidate Solikin M. Juhro, an assistant to the BI governor. As part of the test, candidates must present their vision statements and face questions from lawmakers.
The commission's approval of one new board member will then be subject to a wider parliamentary vote, which is expected to take place on Tuesday, Misbakhun said in a statement on Friday. Parliament usually endorses the commission's decision.
