Indonesia’s president has nominated acting central bank governor Destry Damayanti as the sole candidate to take over the job she has held since the abrupt resignation of Perry Warjiyo last month, the government said Monday.
“There is only one name, it is Destry Damayanti,” presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi said in response to questions from reporters in Jakarta.
Parliament, which is in recess, will have the final word on the new governor — a nomination closely watched by markets.
Before taking over from Perry in an interim capacity, 62-year-old economist Destry had been a deputy governor of the central bank since 2019.
Perry’s unexpected departure in late July was the second of a major economic policymaker since President Prabowo Subianto took office in October 2024.
It sparked speculation that the governor had come under pressure to do more to support the government’s pro-growth agenda, according to Capital Economics and other observers.
Analysts said the choice of Perry’s replacement would be closely watched for signs of political interference.
Prabowo’s nephew Thomas Djiwandono, another deputy governor, had been touted as a possible candidate.
Compounding worries over Bank Indonesia’s independence was a bill passed in July that tasked parliament with evaluating the institution’s performance and gave it responsibility for economic growth — a key focus of Prabowo’s.
Perry’s resignation came against a challenging backdrop with the rupiah plummeting and stock market slumping.
The currency has taken a battering from surging energy costs, shedding about seven percent since the Middle East conflict erupted in February to become Asia’s worst-performing currency, according to financial outlet Bloomberg News.
The bank’s board of governors, comprising a governor and several deputies, decides on monetary policy and sets interest rates.
At the last policy meeting led by Perry in late July, the bank held its benchmark rate at 5.75 per cent after cumulative increases of 100 points this year that likely frustrated the government, according to Capital Economics.
AFP
