Hope for Sri Mulyani’s return as minister

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

JAKARTA: Foreign and local business groups say they would welcome the reappointment of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet, given her proven track record in the job and the value of consistent policymaking.

Sri Mulyani was among dozens of politicians and public figures summoned by Prabowo last Monday for closed-door meetings in his Kertanegara residence in Jakarta to finalise his cabinet lineup.

After the meeting, Sri Mulyani said Prabowo had asked her to serve as finance minister again.

Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara and Deputy Finance Minister Thomas “Tommy” Djiwandono were also called to Kertanegara last Tuesday.

A new figure, Anggito Abimanyu, currently a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University, may join the two in Prabowo’s cabinet as a third deputy minister.

No official announcement on the composition of Prabowo’s cabinet is expected until Sunday.

Sri Mulyani and Prabowo had reportedly been at odds in Jokowi’s cabinet over budgetary issues, particularly defence spending.

However, the relationship between the two seemed to improve gradually after the former general won the presidential election in February.

In recent months, Sri Mulyani has become more accommodative of some of Prabowo “quick win” programmes in next year’s state budget and has welcomed the president-elect’s nephew Tommy as deputy minister.

Tommy has been specifically tasked with ironing out budget details for the incoming government.

Shinta Kamdani, chair of the Indonesian Employers Association, told The Jakarta Post last Tuesday that the finance minister position was central in the cabinet and required a “high level of trust from businesses and investors”.

“Her competence can maintain the trust of the domestic and international market in their undertaking of business and investment in Indonesia,” Shinta pointed out.

Shinta highlighted Sri Mulyani’s “undoubted” track record as “the helmswoman of the finance ministry”, which had garnered recognition from the international community.

Sri Mulyani was executive director at the International Monetary Fund for two years before she became finance minister from 2005 to 2010.

She then served as managing director of the World Bank before President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appointed her finance minister again in 2016.

American Chamber of Commerce managing director Lydia Ruddy told the Post last Tuesday that the finance minister was “one of the key positions that foreign investors evaluate when considering major commitments”.

“We have had a strong working relationship with the minister and would be pleased to see her continue in this position,” said Ruddy. — The Jakarta Post/ANN