BI Circulates New 'NKRI' Bank Notes on Independence Day
23 June 2014 08:12 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bank Indonesia (BI) will circulate new, redesigned bank notes—dubbed the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia/NKRI) money—on August 17, 2014.
"For the inaugural issuance, we will only print the Rp100,000 bill," Siwi Widjayanti, spokesperson of state-owned money printing company Perum Peruri, told Tempo yesterday. She did not say the amount of bills to be printed.
Sivi said that the new banknote will not be replacing the one currently in circulation just yet. As Peruri's printing capacity is limited, the amount of new banknote printed is still small.
The new hundred-thousand bill will have Indonesia's first president and vice president, Soekarno and Hatta, on the observe side (face). It will bear the printed word 'NKRI' instead of 'Bank Indonesia' like in the old banknote.
Another new design is the elimination of BI deputy governor's signature; replaced by the signature of the Finance Minister. The bill will still hold BI Governor's signature.
BI Deputy Governor Ronald Waas previously said the NKRI bill be available in ATM machines by August 17, 2014.
Forex analyst Fahrial Anwar said that the issuance of a new banknote only accentuates on design changes. The Affixing the signature of the Finance Minister only indicates that another person and another institution are now also accountable over the money issued.
"In plain view, there are now two parties responsible for the Indonesian money: the government and the central bank," he said.
The addition of the Finance Minister's signature, he said, indicates that the Indonesian currency is not only supported by the monetary sector, but also by the fiscal sector. Fahrial is confident that the issuance of a new banknote is unrelated to the discourse of a rupiah redenomination.
TRI ARTINING PUTRI | MAYA NAWANGWULAN | MARIA YUNIAR
