Indonesia’s House of Representatives Commission XI has approved Friderica Widyasari Dewi as the new chair of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), according to local reports.
The decision was made following a fit-and-proper test conducted by the commission, which oversees the financial sector, on Wednesday. Lawmakers said the selection of the new OJK leadership was reached through deliberation, taking into account the candidates’ technical competence and professional track records.
The selections were finalised through consensus within the parliamentary commission after assessing the candidates’ qualifications and professional capabilities.
“We want to ensure that Indonesia’s financial service sector is not only stable, but also trustworthy, inclusive, and able to contribute meaningfully to national economic development,” she told lawmakers during the hearing.
She outlined several priorities, including strengthening integrated supervision of financial institutions, with a focus on consumer protection; building an early-warning system to detect fraud or potential instability in the financial industry; and improving coordination with other government ministries and institutions.
She also pledged to enhance risk management while strengthening information technology systems and cybersecurity within the financial regulator.
Dewi had been acting as the interim head of OJK following the resignation of former chairman Mahendra Siregar and three other officials on January 30. Their departures came after Indonesia’s stock exchange was hit by transparency concerns and insider-trading allegations raised by global index provider MSCI, which triggered a sharp decline in the country’s stock market.
Before joining OJK in 2022 as the executive head overseeing market conduct supervision and consumer protection, Dewi has spent decades in the financial industry, including as chief executive of BRI Danareksa Sekuritas and the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI). Earlier in her career, she worked at the IDX as corporate secretary and later as director of development until 2015.
Alongside Dewi’s appointment, the commission also endorsed four members for the OJK Board of Commissioners, including Hernawan Bekti as vice chair, Hasan Fawzi as chief executive for capital market supervision, Dicky Kartikoyono for market conduct, education, and consumer protection, and Adi Budiarso for financial technology innovation, digital financial assets, and crypto supervision.
