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October 21, 2024 | 06:40 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s 8th President Prabowo Subianto has appointed Sri Mulyani Indrawati as the Finance Minister in the Merah Putih Cabinet, making her the country's state treasurer for three presidential terms.
Known as a prudent and cautious minister when it comes to budget spending, the former managing director of the World Bank once held differing views with Prabowo while he was serving as Defense Minister.
Andry Satrio Nugroho, a researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), cited Sri's stance of rejecting budget requests to purchase 12 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft due to fiscal constraints. Ultimately, in February 2024, the Defense Ministry canceled the contract for these jet fighters.
This issue was also discussed by Prabowo during the Presidential Debate on January 7, 2024. When asked about military capacity and the proportion of the defense budget, Prabowo responded by mentioning Sri Mulyani and the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that he had prepared several plans but the Finance Minister had the final say.
“Even though I was the Defense Minister for four years, our plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, leading to a refocusing of priorities. Many of our requests were not approved by the Finance Minister,” Prabowo said at the time.
Sri Mulyani's reputation for strict budget management was also acknowledged by Enggartiasto Lukita. The Trade Minister from 2016 to 2022 explained that Sri preferred not to be liked, even by her colleagues. “It's quite difficult with Ibu Sri Mulyani, because every time I ask for money, she would already say no before I even speak,” Enggartiasto recalled.
The former trade minister opined that this strict approach was beneficial, as it prevented the state budget from collapsing due to excessive spending. He praised Sri for her careful stewardship of Indonesia's finances.
Celios' Director of Public Policy, Media Wahyudi Askar, suggested that as the Finance Minister in the new cabinet, Sri Mulyani might be more flexible in her approach. “Although she is known for her firmness, this stance could potentially change or soften when facing strong pressure from political actors and other ministries,” Askar said.
He noted that the upcoming leadership will face pressing challenges, such as financing large projects like the new capital city IKN or Nusantara and the Free Nutritious Meal program. These initiatives will likely require the Finance Minister to consider massive changes to the state budget, potentially shifting allocations from other budget categories.
Caesar Akbar contributed to the writing of this article.
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