Criticism of Thomas Djiwandono as BI Deputy Governor Candidate, Purbaya Says It is Driven by Jealousy

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa responded to criticism from a number of economists against the nomination of Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Djiwandono as Deputy Governor of the Bank Indonesia (BI).

According to him, the criticism was more driven by envy. "He is jealous, maybe he thinks he should be the one to go to BI, the economist," he told the media, Tuesday, January 20.

As is known, a number of economists have expressed objections to the nomination of Thomas Djiwandono because it is considered to have the potential to disrupt the independence of the central bank.

The concern arose because of his closeness to the fiscal authorities, his position as general treasurer of the Gerindra Party, and his family relationship with President Prabowo Subianto as a nephew.

In response to this, Purbaya predicted that Thomas would release his involvement in the Gerindra Party when he officially took office at the BI.

"Later, if the person goes there, Mr. Thomas will definitely be more independent, more free. He will definitely not be in Gerindra anymore, if my guess is yes, or even in Gerindra in the back," he said.

He also emphasized that the decision at BI was not determined by one person, considering that the BI Board of Governors consists of a minimum of four and a maximum of seven members.

"But the Board of Governors is not one person, how many? Seven. One person can't influence everything. So they have to discuss among them later. My guess is that there must always be a compromise, a compromise is a consensus," he said.

He added that the decision-making mechanism at BI always prioritizes deliberation and consensus and as long as this approach is carried out, there is no problem related to independence.

"So as long as the approach is like that, there is no problem. Later if there is government intervention that is considered excessive, it can be seen. So far it is only synergy in a better direction, if it is not an intervention, (but) cooperation," he said.

When asked about the urgency of the exchange of positions between Thomas Djiwandono and Juda Agung, Purbaya emphasized that he did not have the authority to make decisions.

"Oh, I don't know. It's not me who took care of it, right," he said.

He also admitted that he did not know in detail whether there was a direct order from the President regarding this matter, although he said that it was likely to have been discussed earlier.