Indonesia Finance Minister Indrawati Dispels Quitting Rumors
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she remains focused on her work amid rumors that she will step down from President Joko Widodo’s Cabinet ahead of the national elections in February.
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“I’m still working,” Indrawati told reporters on Friday after a Cabinet meeting in the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, when asked about the resignation rumors.
The finance ministry office also dismissed the rumors, saying in a statement that Indrawati continues to carry out duties “professionally and responsibly in accordance with laws and regulations.” Indrawati has just returned from Davos, Switzerland and is scheduled to attend three internal meetings with Jokowi, as the president is known.
Indrawati, who took on the post in 2016, has been a linchpin of the Jokowi administration, spearheading a number of fiscal reforms that have swiftly brought the budget deficit back below the legal limit of 3% of gross domestic product after the pandemic. Higher value-added and excise taxes, as well as streamlined subsidies, have maintained state revenue amid the slump in global commodity prices.
Indonesia’s budget deficit stood at 1.65% of GDP last year, the smallest gap since 2011 with tax collections beating targets for the third consecutive year.
Jokowi’s office likewise denied rumors of a rift. “All cabinet ministers remain united and solid in helping the president lead the government until the end of the term,” Ari Dwipayana, coordinator of the president’s special staff, said in a text message.
The resignation talk was sparked by University of Indonesia economist Faisal Basri, who said in a forum that several ministers were uncomfortable after a Constitutional Court — led by the the president’s brother-in-law — ruled to waive age limits that let Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka run for vice president.
Jokowi has denied trying to create a political dynasty, saying that Indonesian voters will decide who wins. Gibran, who is running alongside Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, are the clear frontrunners in the polls.
(Updates from third paragraph with statements, context)
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