BANK INDONESIA GOV'S POST MAY BE VACANT FOR SOME TIME: KUSUMA.

JAKARTA, April 1 Asia Pulse - If the government does not forward its new candidate for Bank Indonesia (BI) governor to the House of Representatives (DPR) soon, the post may become vacant for some time, a legislator said.

"There is a real possibility the position will be vacant for some time, It's now March 31 whereas the House will go on recess from April 12 to May 12, 2008," said Awal Kusuma, chairman of the House's Commission XI, here Monday.

The incumbent BI governor, Burhanuddin Abdullah, was to end his tenure on May 17, meaning that a vacancy in the post could only be prevented if his successor was appointed before the date, Kusuma said.

He said a hiatus in the BI governorship would be a violation of Law No 3 on Bank Indonesia but added that if it happened he was sure the central bank would continue to operate normally.

"As we all know, BI's management is run on a collegiate basis. It's quite possible for the remaining members of the bank's board of governors to take over the governor's duties temporarily although it would be against the law," he said.

Kusuma said, if the House's Consultative Body (Bamus) gave the order, the House's Commission XI (dealing with banking affairs) could well waive its right to go on recess in order to handle the BI governor's selection. "But we hope we don't need to go to that extent and the president will propose a candidate soon enough," he said.