Fadel Muhammad Calls Sri Mulyani to Step Down

TheIndonesia.id - A Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) has urged Ministry of Finance Sri Mulyani to resign following a budget cut for the legislative body.

Deputy Speaker Fadel Muhammad said budget allocated for MPR continued to be reduced in the state budget while the number of leaders have been added from four to 10.

“Previously, there were four leaders in MPR, and currently, there are ten of us. But the budget continued to decrease,” Fadel said at the Parliamentary Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday, November 30.

According to him, the Ministry of State Secretariat advised MPR to communicate the budgeting issue directly with Mulyani. However, he said Speaker Bambang Soesatyo’s invitation for discussion was always be declined by the Minister.

Therefore, Muhammad said MPR is asking President Joko Widodo to sack the Ministry of Finance, also for a lack of respect.

“Speaker of MPR wanted to hold the meeting with the Ministry, so we invited her and prepared everything. Two days later, she unexpectedly canceled the plan. We re-arranged the meeting again, and she canceled again,” Muhammad revealed.

“On behalf of MPR leaders, we ask the President of Indonesia to dismiss the Ministry of Finance for being unethical and incompetent in regulating the government’s policies.”

Special staff for the Ministry Yustinus Prastowo has responded to the complaints from the MPR leaders.  According to him, the two proposed dates for meeting with Soesatyo coincided with other meetings that the Mulyani had to attend.

“On the first proposed date, July 27, Ministry of Finance had to attend internal meeting with the President. And on September 28, Ministry attended meeting with the House of Representatives’ Budget Committee and had to cancel meeting with MPR,” Prastowo said in a statement on Wednesday, December 1.

As for budget cut, he said due to high cases of COVID-19 Delta variant this year, budget for all ministries and state agencies had to go through refocusing. The step is deemed necessary because the government has to handle the soaring hospitalization costs, accelerate vaccination program, and implement community activity restrictions (PPKM) in a number of regions in Indonesia.

State budget was also prioritized for social assistance programs, subsidies for workers, and for small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) that can’t operate during Level 4 communities restrictions.

“Lastly, budget for MPR leaders and activities is still supported in accordance with state budget mechanism,” Prastowo concluded.

It’s not the first time Sri Mulyani becomes national headline in Indonesia, as it’s not her first time as a Ministry of Finance. He was first appointed as MoF in 2005, during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency. She axed corrupt officers in the tax and customs, and she was also successful in gaining direct investment to the country.

In 2006, Euromoney magazine named her Finance Minister of the Year.

In 2008, she was included in Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Woman and was ranked in the 23rd spot.

After being reappointed in her post during Yudhoyono’s second term in 2009, a year later Mulyani resigned and was appointed as World Bank’s Managing Director.

Finally, since President Joko Widodo first assumed office in 2016 until he’s currently serving a second term, Mulyani has been a pivotal part in his cabinet.