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View all search resultsFarewell Bu Ani
After seeing online videos showing the interior of her home being vandalized with her hand-drawn painting being damaged in the incident, many certainly expected that it would be difficult for Sri Mulyani to return to her job the next day.
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Former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati attended the handover ceremony with her successor Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on Sept. 9 at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he writing was on the wall a little over a week ago when an unruly mob descended on the affluent neighborhood of Bintaro in Tangerang and began ransacking the home of the erstwhile finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
The mob descended on Sri Mulyani's family home in the early hours of Aug. 31, following a violent street protest against government policies that led to the death of 10 protesters.
With the interior of her home vandalized, and some of her prized possessions, including a painting which she drew, damaged in the incident, no one could expect Sri Mulyani to continue her role as cabinet minister under President Prabowo Subianto.
And if some unconfirmed reports are true, that her request to have security reinforcements around her house on the night of the attack was rebuffed, there was indeed no reason for her to stay on as minister.
No job is worth keeping if your personal safety is at risk.
In the days following the attack, Sri Mulyani twice made an offer to resign but it was reported that President Prabowo rejected the proposal, concerned that her abrupt resignation while the country was still engulfed in unrest could further escalate the situation.
It was only after the security situation had improved and President Prabowo managed to get a grip of the situation that Sri Mulyani got her wish granted.
On Monday, President Prabowo inaugurated Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the former chairman of the Indonesian Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), as the new finance minister to replace Sri Mulyani.
It was a tumultuous end for one of the longest serving ministers as well as one of the most influential figures in Indonesia's politics.
In the past, Sri Mulyani defied the odd by making a comeback after suffering a political defeat. This time, it seems that we have seen the last of her.
"Please respect my privacy," Sri Mulyani said in her farewell speech at the Finance Ministry on Tuesday.
The last time she engaged in a political fight, she was relieved of her duty and was transferred to a respectable position as managing director of the World Bank.
She was dismissed by president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for refusing to use government money or make policies to benefit Aburizal Bakrie, then chairman of the Golkar party and a leading member of the president's ruling coalition at that time.
Sri Mulyani's fight with Bakrie cemented her reputation as a "prudent technocrat" who was willing to go against the vested interests in the country's bureaucracy and political system.
Her first major initiative was to embark on bureaucratic reform at the finance ministry in 2005 aimed at stamping out corruption and boosting efficiency.
She also managed the country's finances prudently such that Indonesia quickly won back investor confidence during the time she served as finance minister as well as coordinating minister for the economy.
It was this reputation that tempted Indonesia's successive presidents to hire Sri Mulyani as the country's treasurer, for diminishing returns.
Under the administration of former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, one of Sri Mulyani's prime directives was to get funding for populist programs from infrastructure projects to social aid programs.
Critics of Sri Mulyani have said that she is responsible for today's greater fiscal pressure from an increase in the proportion of debt.
Sri Mulyani went up against a bigger challenge when she decided to join the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, who promised even more massive populist projects.
Last week, Bu Ani, as she was affectionately called by colleagues at the ministry, was faced with insurmountable odds and decided to walk away.
A little bit too late, but she was finally delivered from the lion's mouth.
History will judge what legacy Sri Mulyani leaves for the country, but her tenure as finance minister was certainly one hell of a run.
