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Speculation mounts over Sri Mulyani resignation
Finance Minister's resignation will have a significant impact on both Indonesia’s financial market and President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's approval rating, analysts say.
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati smiles she greets journalists after attending meetings at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Jan. 19, 2024. It is rumored that Sri Mulyani may resign from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s cabinet. (Antara/Mentari Dwi Gayati)
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has deflected questions over a rumor that she is on the verge of resigning from her cabinet position less than a month until the general election, talk that has triggered fear that investments could set sail with the departure of the country’s icon of fiscal prudence.
Faisal Basri, a senior economist at the University of Indonesia (UI), said earlier this week that 15 ministers in Jokowi’s Onward Indonesia Cabinet, including Sri Mulyani and Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, were planning to quit over concerns of government ethics breaches.
Sri Mulyani neither denied nor confirmed the rumor on Friday, when reporters asked her about the gossip.
“I’m working,” was all she said in response as she left the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta, following three separate meetings with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and fellow ministers on the education fund, the entertainment tax and the bill on a special designation for Jakarta after it loses its capital city status to Nusantara.
The President’s office and her cabinet peers have all denied the speculation on her impending exit.
While en route to Friday’s meeting on the entertainment tax, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party, flat-out denied the rumor by responding to reporters: “No. Bu [Mrs.] Ani is my friend”, referring to the minister by her nickname.
On Thursday, Trade Minister and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan told reporters not to “spread rumors”.
