APSN | House officially approves Budi Gunawan as new spy chief

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House officially approves Budi Gunawan as new spy chief

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2016

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Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The House of Representatives officially approved Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the new National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief during a plenary meeting on Thursday.

Lawmakers attending the meeting, chaired by House deputy speaker Taufik Kurniawan, unanimously agreed with the decision of House Commission I, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, to endorse Budi as the successor of outgoing BIN chief Sutiyoso.

"We hope he [Budi] can be soon inaugurated and this afternoon we will try our best to send an endorsement letter to the President [Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo]. Tomorrow is a good time for the inauguration [of the new chief]," House deputy speaker Fahri Hamzah said after the plenary meeting.

The decision came following a screening, conducted by Commission I, which finished on Wednesday. All political party factions at the commission approved Budi as the sole candidate for the new spy chief.

Currently serving as National Police deputy chief, Budi was nominated by President Jokowi through an official letter sent to the House by State Secretary Pratikno last Friday. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/09/08/house-officially-approves-budi-gunawan-as-new-spy-chief.html.