MP: PRESIDENT TO PROPOSE CANDIDATES FOR BI GOVERNOR SOON

Jakarta, June 29 (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Muhaimin Iskandar said on Monday President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will soon propose candidates for the vacant post of Bank Indonesia (BI) governor.

"It must be filled soon to make every thing clear," he said.

Muhaimin who is also chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said the DPR did not know exactly when the president would put forward a list of candidates for the post to the parliament.

"We are still waiting for the list of candidates from the President," he said.

The post of BI governor has been vacant since incumbent President Yudhoyono who is seeking re-election in the July 8 presidential race picked Boediono as his running mate.

Boediono who was elected as BI governor in May last year submitted his resignation letter to Yudhoyono on May 15 this year.

Muhaimin said all the nominees proposed by the president would undergo a fit and proper test to see to it that the elected candidate really met the qualifications to lead the central bank.

"The President must propose more than one candidate," he said.

Asked to comment on a discourse suggesting that President Yudhoyono nominate Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati for the BI governorship, Muhaimin said Mulyani deserved to the post.

"Mulyani is one of the qualified candidates. She has a (good) character and is independent. She has firm integrity and managerial skill particularly in the monetary field," he said.

Analyst Johanna Chua of the Citi financial institution said the market would give a positive response if Mulyani was elected to the BI governorship.

"I think Sri Mulyani will be seen by the market as a positive sign thanks to her credibility and track record," Chua said in the conclusion of Citi's study, a copy of which was made available to ANTARA recently. ***2***
T.SDP-25