Unseating Sri Mulyani

I am not surprised that (Finance Minister) Sri Mulyani's job is in jeopardy. She is a formidable figure and a no-nonsense woman and her fearless stance in making tough decisions necessary to improve Indonesia's economic and financial situation has made her many enemies among Indonesia's prominent businessmen.

Indonesian businessmen have been pampered excessively for much too long by previous administrations in return for kickbacks. Those involved in violations in the mining sector, customs and excise and the tax sector are understandably teeming up with businessmen who have been seriously hurt and have recently lost billions of dollars due to the collapse of global stock markets. All of them are facing serious financial problems due to Sri Mulyani's cutthroat measures.

It is not surprising that they seek her downfall. The greed of prominent businessmen knows no bounds and they take all sorts of business-risks detrimental not only to themselves but also to the environment, the nation and its population. Just look at the ecological disaster in East Jawa caused by Lapindo Brantas, where continuous mudflow has caused millions of people to lose their jobs, their homes and tenable land.

It has also destroyed infrastructure in East Java. The majority of Indonesians are so fed-up with these unscrupulous businessmen and they are therefore fully supporting Sri Mulyani.

LYNNA VAN DER ZEE-OEHMKE
Bogor, West Jawa