BI Independence Issue Mencuat, Menkeu Purbaya Opens His Voice

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa responded to public concerns regarding the independence of the Bank Indonesia (BI), following the nomination of Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Djiwandono as Deputy Governor of BI, who is said to have a family relationship with President Prabowo Subianto.

For information, Thomas Djiwandono, commonly called Tommy, is the first child of Soedradjad Djiwandono and Biantiningsih Miderawati, where his father is a former Governor of Bank Indonesia who is now teaching at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. While his mother is the older sister of Prabowo Subianto.

Purbaya explained that the transfer of officials from the government to Bank Indonesia is a natural thing and does not necessarily interfere with the independence of BI.

According to him, the exchange of positions between the government and BI can be seen as a balanced and unproblematic mechanism, as long as there is no direct intervention from the government in monetary decision-making.

"The government is also changing BI, so I am confused. If Juda Agung comes to me, maybe Mr. Perry wants to suppress me inside. That's one exchange, an exchange that I think is balanced. There is nothing strange, if independence has nothing to do with it, unless later when making decisions there is direct intervention from the government," he told the media, Monday, January 19.

In addition, he also did not rule out the possibility that the position of the Deputy Minister of Finance left by Thomas would be filled by Juda Agung, who was previously rumored to have resigned from the position of Deputy Governor of the BI and to ensure this, as well as plans to meet directly with Juda Agung to ensure his readiness.

"It looks like that, I heard that too. Later I want to meet with Mr. Juda tomorrow. I want to see what his intentions are," he said.

When asked if the change resembled a change of position, Purbaya answered in a relaxed tone while strengthening the speculation that was circulating.

"Kayak switch-switch ya kelihatannya. Kalau bocoran itu seperti itu, kayaknya begitu, switch kelihatannya," jelasnya.

He emphasized that until now there has never been any intervention in the Bank Indonesia or other policies, because the Government, continues to implement fiscal policy, while BI carries out monetary policy independently.

"So far there is none, so we run the independent BI fiscally, they run the monetary, we coordinate in the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) to ensure the policy is independent even though they are independent," he explained.

Purbaya emphasized that the two only coordinate in the KSSK forum to ensure that the policies taken remain in line with encouraging economic growth.

He also emphasized that officials who entered the BI were no longer part of the government.

Regarding the reason for the exchange or transfer of the position, Purbaya emphasized that the decision did not come from him.

"No, it should be that way when he enters BI, he is independent. It is not a government element if the government element is that I will send people every time there is a meeting of the Board of Governors related to Bunga. Can it be in the law? It is a government element. If this is not independent, it looks like it will be," he said.