Minister favors internal candidate to lead PLN

State Minister for State-owned Enterprises Sofyan A. Djalil favors internal candidates to become a new president director of state electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Kompas Daily reported on Monday.

?We need people who have vision, a good track of record, integrity and capability. The leading candidate comes from PLN,? the Minister said in Jakarta last week.

The government is seeking a new president director for PLN to replace Eddie Widiono who retired last week due to age.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to announce the new president director today (Monday), according to Investor Daily.

Fahmi Mochtar, who is PLN's acting director of generation and primary energy, is poised to become the new president director of the firm after gaining highest scores in the fit and proper tests run by the government on Friday, according to Invstor.

Also participating in the fit and proper test were Director of Commerce and Customer Service Sunggu Aritonang, Deputy Director of Commerce Murtaqi Syamsudin, Deputy Director of Human Resources Supriyadi, Director of Transmission and Distribution Herman Darnel Ibrahim, Deputy Director of Independent Power Producer Nasri Sebayang, Director of Human Resources and Organization Djuanda Nugraha Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, PLN's labor union called on the government not to re-install anyone from the old board of directors into the new board of directors.

?We don't want any of the old directors to stay in the board. If they come back, they will push ahead with the privatization scenario, which we reject? the union's secretary general Iman Kukuh said. (*)