Indonesia’s Sri Mulyani asked to stay on as finance minister
Sri Mulyani is one of Indonesia’s longest-serving finance ministers who has worked under two presidents
INDONESIA’S Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday (Oct 14) that president-elect Prabowo Subianto has asked her to stay on as finance minister, after a meeting at which they discussed ways to strengthen state finances and the finance ministry.
Sri Mulyani said she had held several talks with Prabowo, and that the incoming president had kept his message consistent about state finances, in support of strengthening revenue collection and spending capacity.
Sri Mulyani arrived on Monday (Oct 14) night at Prabowo’s private residence in South Jakarta. The incoming president has been holding meetings with dozens of people, mostly politicians in his broad coalition, who said they had been asked to serve as ministers ahead of Prabowo’s Sunday inauguration.
Speculation has been rife about who will be Prabowo’s finance minister after the president-elect’s comments earlier this year on plans to take on more debt set local bond and currency markets on edge.
Sri Mulyani, one of Indonesia’s longest-serving finance ministers who has worked under two presidents, has won plaudits for reforming the taxation system and for her role in steering South-east Asia’s largest economy through several crises, including the pandemic.
Several ministers from the administration of outgoing President Joko Widodo, including interior minister Tito Karnavian, trade minister Zulkifli Hasan and energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia, met with Prabowo earlier on Monday and said they had been asked to join the next government, but did not elaborate on their positions.
Airlangga Hartarto, Widodo’s chief economic minister, was also called to Prabowo’s residence late on Monday. REUTERS
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