Lawmakers who had said Sri Mulyani Indrawati should be held accountable for state losses linked to the Bank Century bailout played down their pressure on the Finance Minister on Tuesday, accepting her at a hearing to discuss the revision of the 2010 state budget.
Emir Moeis, the chairman of House of Representatives Commission XI overseeing financial affairs, said the commission had accepted Mulyani to continue to represent the government on all matters related to the state budget.
Previously in a hearing on Monday, Mulyani’s presence had roiled tempers and resulted in an intense debate between lawmakers as to whether she could still represent the government after a House plenary session on March 3 concluded that she should face due legal process for her part in the Century bailout.
The bailout, which was approved by Mulyani on Nov. 21, 2008, ended up costing the state Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million), more than 10 times an original estimate submitted at the time the bailout was approved.
The hearing on Monday ended with a suspension and request for Mulyani to either be accompanied or replaced by Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa.
On Tuesday, the President bowed down to pressure from the lawmakers and assigned Hatta to accompany Mulyani.
Emir said Hatta’s presence on Tuesday did a lot to appease the lawmakers’ rebuke. However, he said, Hatta’s presence would no longer be required at future hearings.
“The coordinating minister is no longer needed. He already has a lot on his table,” Emir said.
Emir’s statement was condoned by all commission members except one, Dolfie O. Palit of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
At the second session of the hearing, which started at 7:30 p.m., Dolfie walked out because Hatta was no longer present. His move was later criticized by colleagues who accused him of being inconsistent with a consensus met by all members earlier in the presence of Hatta.
Political hubbub aside, Mulyani explained changes in key macroeconomic assumptions that would affect government spending and earning this year.
“The inflation rate is expected to increase from 5 percent to 5.7 percent by the end of 2010, because of several factors such as the increase of basic electricity rate,” Mulyani said.
The estimated Indonesia Crude Price has also been changed from $65 a barrel to $77 a barrel. As a result, energy subsidies are expected to reach Rp 143.79 trillion, up 35 percent from Rp 106.53 trillion allocated in the original 2010 budget.
According to the revised calculations, the budget deficit is expected to swell to Rp 129.82 trillion, a 32.5 percent increase from the Rp 98.01 trillion stated in the original 2010 budget.
Under the proposed revision, the government aims to spend Rp 1,104.64 trillion in total expenditure, up 5.4 percent from Rp 1,047.67 trillion allocated in the original 2010 budget.
In her presentation, Mulyani showed the country’s economic growth target remained at 5.5 percent. However, last week she said the government may revise the target up to 6 percent on higher than expected exports and investments.
