TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Chatib Basri said the government and the House of Representatives were set to resume discussions on the bill (RUU) on the re-denomination of the rupiah so the plan to simplify the currency can be implemented as soon as possible.

“We are about to begin the discussions with the House with regards to the re-denomination,” said Chatib at the launch of the newly-designed Rp100,000 bank note in Jakarta on Monday.

The minister hopes the discussions would proceed without a hitch and the House could ratify the bill by the next plenary session. “I hope the House would ratify the draft and pass it as a law. If not, then discussions will resume when the next administration takes office,” he said.

Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Agus Martowardojo has also reaffirmed that the negotiations of the draft bill will resume shortly, and that the government will begin the transition period and disseminate the information about the concept of re-denomination as soon as the draft bill is passed.

“As soon as the draft bill is passed, a transition period with a minimum duration of six years will begin. During the re-denomination process, the rupiah should not lose any of its value and this will apply to transactions of both goods and services,” he said.

Agus added Indonesia should take some note of Turkey’s success with currency re-denomination, and that the re-denomination process must be done during a period of economic stability.

“Turkey has full sovereignty over its currency, as illustrated by their success in re-denominating their currency. This republic should push for greater sovereignty over our currency,” he said.

If the bill is ratified, three zeroes will be dropped from the present rupiah bank note—Rp1,000 of the old rupiah is equal to Rp1 of the new rupiah. The re-denomination bill is currently being examined by a special board at the House.

Reporter: Satyagraha Editor: Maryati