BI Mandate Wants To Change, Minister Of Finance Purbaya Questions Changes To The P2SK Bill

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadive is not aware of any change in mandate to Bank Indonesia (BI) as stated in the latest draft revision of the Draft Law on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (RUU P2SK).

Purbaya said that the draft had not been officially received. "I heard that it will be changed, but it has not yet come to my table," Purbaya told the media crew, Tuesday, September 16.

In the latest version of the draft, Article 48 contains new provisions that allow the dismissal of members of the BI Board of Governors based on the results of the DPR's evaluation as part of the implementation of the supervisory function of the institution.

Meanwhile, this provision was not previously stated in Law Number 4 of 2023 concerning P2SK.

In addition, Article 7 of the new P2SK Bill also adds the task of Bank Indonesia not only to maintain stability in the value of the rupiah and payment system, but also to play a role in maintaining financial system stability in order to support sustainable economic growth.

Bank Indonesia is also required to implement policies, including the policy mix, which encourages the creation of an economic climate that supports the real sector and job creation. This provision is a new thing that was not regulated in the previous BI Law.

Responding to the change, Purbaya stated that currently there is no urgency to revise BI's mandate.

He also questioned the reasons behind the parliament's efforts to change, including the mechanism for dismissing the Board of Governors.

"Why should it be changed?" he said.

Purbaya emphasized that the P2SK Bill had just been amended in 2023, why should it be changed again in such a short time.

"I don't know. Is it okay for individuals? So it's just changed in 2023. Why change it again in a short time? That means what yesterday made the wrong thing or what? Let it function fully, then we'll see where the defects are, then we'll fix them," he said.

According to him, the newly passed law should be given time to carry out in full, after that, then an evaluation will be carried out to find out which part needs to be improved.

"This is only 2 years, maybe the implementation will also be in mid-2023, starting. So I think it's too early to change the P2SK Bills. But if there is later input, we will see if it needs to be changed or not. I will study the input that comes in, which reaches me. Later, we will study whether it changes or not. But my personal views are like that. Don't change the regulations quickly," he explained.

Responding to the provisions in the latest draft which states that Bank Indonesia has a role in job creation, Purbaya admits that he has not studied the contents of the article further.

"I don't know. I haven't seen it. Basically, in America, it's 3. Stability, price stability, unemployment, work and growth. Maybe we want to go there," he said.

"I don't know, what was changed yesterday. Haven't come in yet ?," he added.

However, Purbaya reminded that in monetary economic theory, monetary policy has limitations and cannot be a single tool to drive all aspects of the economy.

"According to monetary science, monetary policy cannot do everything. Let him focus on the steps he can take. So maybe he can add a little bit of function, but don't expect monetary policy to be the only one that can improve our economy. So there must be coordination or concert effort between fiscal and monetary," he explained.