RI Finance minister Sri Mulyani to World Bank

President hopes Mulyani can be bridge in RI-WB relations
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 20:06 WIB | National

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed the hope Sri Mulyani could become a bridge in the relations between the World Bank and Indonesia as one of the bank`s most important partners.

He made the statement at a press conference here on Wednesday after approving Mulyani`s appointment as managing director of the World Bank and resignation as finance minister.

"I hope Ibu (Mrs) Sri Mulyani Indrawati can strengthen the World Bank and become a bridge in the relations between the bank and developing countries in Asia, including Indonesia," he said.

He said Indonesia would lose one of its best ministers who had worked hard to formulate correct fiscal policies and initiated reform in the field of finance to promote the disciplined use of budget funds and budget accountability.

Sri Mulyani was considered to have successfully reformed the taxation and customs services resulting in a significant increase in the state`s revenues. She had also served as President`s spearhead in international diplomacy in the G-20 and other forums.

"Although we will lose one of our best ministers, I am also aware that the role and tasks of a World Bank managing director is also very important," he said.

President Yudhoyono said he received the World Bank`s letter on the appointment of Sri Mulyani as the bank`s managing director a month ago.

"Last month the World Bank expressed its intention to name Sri Mulyani as one of its managing directors who rank second to the bank`s president in a letter addressed to Sri Mulyani as well as to me as President of the Republic of Indonesia," he said.

He said he only received the formal request from World Bank President Robert Zoellick on April 30, 2010 which also explained about the tasks and responsibilities of Mulyani as a managing director covering three regions in the world.

After studying the letter he concluded that the position was strategic, important and respected. "My response was, I agree with the understanding she must finish her remaining tasks at home," he said.

President Yudhoyono hoped the person replacing Sri Mulyani would be able to implement correctly the government`s macro-economic and fiscal policies and continue customs and tax reform efforts.

He said he also hoped the new minister later would also be able to preserve the country`s role in international forums in the country`s interest.

President Yudhoyono mentioned no name of the person who would replace Sri Mulyani who would start her job in Washington in June 2010.(*)

Mulyani`s resignation result of political engineering :observer
Thursday, May 6, 2010 06:10 WIB | National

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A political observer from state Universty of Indonesia, Arbi Sanit, said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani`s resignation was the result of political engineering by the government to save her from the legal process over the Bank Century case.

"This is a form of political compromise between the government and its coalition members. The move was made mainly to accomodate the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) that do not like Sri Mulyani," he said here on Wednesday commenting on Mulyani`s appointment as a World Bank managing director.

Arbi said it was a solution to the political deadlock in Indonesia as a result of the Bank Century bailout case that he believed would not stop unless Mulyani resigned.

He said the dislike of Golkar and PKS towards Mulyani was proven by their recent move to boycott Mulyani at the House of Representatives sessions.

However, he said it was the PDIP (Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle) and Hanura (People`s Conscience Party) that were consistent in the boycott while Golkar and PKS were not.

"To me, it is the result of a compromise at the expense of Sri Mulyani," he said.

He said this way all elite members would be safe. He said the decision to appoint her was certainly made without consideration to the people`s wish for the settlement of the Bank Century case and the accountability of those involved.

"This move is only for saving the political elite. The government has accomodated the wish of political parties. With Mulyani`s resignation the Bank Century case is over," he said.

Arbi Sanit also suspected the US government had also played a role with regard to Mulyani`s appointment to the World Bank through its embassy here.

"The US certainly had an interest in a stable Indonesia and it certainly has had a role with regard to Mulyani`s appointment because the US is one of the bank`s biggest contributors," he said.

A constitutional court observer, Irmanputra Sidin, meanwhile said he saw nothing wrong in Mulyani`s resignation. He said based on the constitution the President had the prerogative right to do anything including replacing a cabinet minister as well as engineering Mulyani`s resignation.

"The President has the prerogative right to appoint a minister or fire a minister. So it is not wrong even if his decision is an act of engineering for political reasons," he said.

He said Mulyani`s move was humane (rather than defending her position and being pummeled).

"I think in the current system, even an angel would be unwilling to take on the responsibility of managing the country and unless a change is made on the system that guarantees the rights and obligations of all people, this kind of situation will remain. President Yudhoyono must use the current momentum to put the country in order," he said.

The chairman of the ruling Democrat Party faction in the House of Representatives, Anas Urbaningrum, expressed regret over Mulyani`s resignation but he also appreciated it to cool down political conditions in the country.

"Her resignation is actually regrettable but it also needs to be appreciated as Mulyani thereby shows an upright and selfless attitude," he said. (*)

KPK not to forbid Sri Mulyani from leaving RI
Thursday, May 6, 2010 18:19 WIB | National

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will not prevent outgoing Finance Minister Sri Mulyani from leaving Indonesia for the United States, a KPK deputy chairman said.

Therefore, the KPK would not request the immigration directorate general of the law and human rights ministry to impose an overseas travel ban on her, KPK vice chairman Bibit Samad Rianto told reporters here Thursday.

"We do not need to prevent her from leaving the country," he said commenting on Sri Mulyani`s resignation as finance minister to take the position of managing director at the World Bank in Washington DC starting June 1.

An overseas travel ban on Sri Mulyani was not needed because with her new and respected position, she was believed not to do things that would damage her credibility, he said.

Rianto further said the circumstances of Sri Mulyani`s intention to go abroad were also clear enough to the commission.

In connection with the KPK investigation into the Bank Century bailout scandal, KPK investigators had so far quizzed Sri Mulyani twice, namely on April 29 and May 4, 2010.

She was questioned about the troubled bank bailout case in her capacity as the former head of the now-defunct Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK).

In the May 4 questioning session, Sri Mulyani explained about her duties and authority as the former head of KSSK to the anti-corruption commission investigators.

Rianto said Sri Mulyani`s new position would not disrupt the KPK probe into the Bank Century case.

"She remains on earth. We can still find her," he said, adding that the KPK investigators had ever quizzed an Indonesian citizen in Washington DC in the past.
Sri Mulyani announced her resignation on Wednesday or a day after the KPK quizzed her over the Bank Century scandal.

On Tuesday, she said the KPK questioning was expected to pave the way for her to get legal certainty.

Sri Mulyani and former central bank governor who is now Vice President, Boediono, were among those named by several party factions in the House`s Bank Century Inquiry Committee as responsible for the Bank Century scandal.

The central government`s decision to rescue failed Bank Century with a total of Rp6.7 trillion in bailout funds had also triggered protests from various elements in the society.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono maintained Sri Mulyani in his cabinet despite public pressure for her dismissal from the cabinet.

But regarding her decision to leave the cabinet for her new position at the World Bank, President Yudhoyono agreed on it. (*)

Sri Mulyani`s successor still unknown
Thursday, May 6, 2010 18:26 WIB | National


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said here Thursday he still had no idea who would succeed Sri Mulyani as finance minister.

"At this juncture, only the president knows," he told reporters a day after Mulyani sent in her resignation to assume a new post at the World Bank.

Rajasa said he had not been assigned to act as interim fiance minister because of Sri Mulyani`s resignation.

"Let us just wait for the name from the President. But, one thing is clear, that is, Sri Mulyani`s resignation letter has been received by the President," he said.

Asked about the outgoing finance minister`s reason for accepting the World Bank`s offer to fill a managing directorship, Rajasa was reluctant to respond to the question.
"That question is more appropriately addressed to Ibu (Mrs) Sri Mulyani. What we know is that the World Bank has offered her the job as the President has stated...," he said.

Whether or not Sri Mulyani`s quitting was related to her questioning over the Bank Century bailout scandal, Rajasa said they were two different things that should be separated.

"These are two separate matters. About the World Bank job for Mulyani, we must be proud that an Indonesian woman has been appointed to a well-respected position at the World Bank."

"It is probably the first time in our history. This is a key position," he said.

Rajasa also noted that Sri Mulyani was expected to begin her career at the World Bank only next June 1 and that until then she would still perform her duties as finance minister.

In other part of his press statement, Rajasa said Sri Mulyani`s succession would not change the government`s economic policies.

"Whoever her successor is, the policies will remain unchanged," he said adding that the economic team under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s leadership would keep managing the country`s economy prudently.

Sri Mulyani`s resignation from the cabinet would neither affect investors to invest in Indonesia because they could see the country`s sound economy, he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself had agreed to Sri Mulyani`s resignation as finance minister.

Sri Mulyani announced her resignation on Wednesday or a day after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) quizzed her over the Bank Century bailout scandal.
On Tuesday, she said the KPK questioning was expected to pave the way for her to get legal certainty.

Sri Mulyani and former central bank governor who is now Vice President, Boediono, were among those named by several party factions in the House`s Bank Century Inquiry Committee as responsible for the Bank Century scandal.

The central government`s decision to rescue failed Bank Century with a total of Rp6.7 trillion in bailout funds had also triggered protests from various elements in the society.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono maintained Sri Mulyani in his cabinet despite public pressure for her dismissal from the cabinet. (*)

Presidential spokesman: no political deal with World Bank
Friday, May 7, 2010 13:43 WIB | National


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha has refuted allegations there was a political deal between the World Bank and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) concerning Sri Mulyani`s appointment as a World Bank managing director.

"It`s not true that there was a political deal or a deal between President SBY with the World Bank president on the position of Mrs. Sri Mulyani," Julian told the press here Friday.

Sri Mulyani was appointed to be a World Bank managing director not at Yudhoyono`s request but the World Bank had informed and asked President SBY to allow Sri Mulyani take the position.

"I know there was a letter from World Bank President Robert Zoellick when we had a retreat at Tampak Siring (Bali). In the letter Zoellick asked about the possibility for Sri Mulyani to be nominated as a managing director of the bank. That was the initial talks," he said.

The World Bank had made the request because they were fully aware that Sri Mulyani was still Indonesia`s finance minister and she was still needed in this position, he said.

According to Julian Pasha, President Yudhodono now preferred to choose a professional to replace Sri Mulyani.

"For sure, she or he will come from professional circles, and only someone who really understands the finance sector will be chosen to fill the position," he said.

A professional was needed because the president considered the position very important and strategic in the national economic development effort.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, 47, was selected to be a top adviser to World Bank President Robert Zoellick and would start June 1 as one of the Washington- based bank`s three managing directors, the highest ranking officials under Zoellick.

She will replace Juan Jose Daboub, who will complete his four-year term June 30, overseeing 74 nations in Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, the bank said. Daboub is a former finance minister of Salvador. (*)

en dan hier ook een Wereldomroep artikel in Bahasa:


Bank Dunia Menghina Dan Melecehkan Indonesia
Diterbitkan : 6 Mei 2010 - 2:08pm | Oleh Alfons Lasedu

Permintaan Bank Dunia kepada Menteri Keuangan Sri Mulyani Indrawati untuk menjadi Direktur Pelaksana Bank Dunia di Washington merupakan bentuk penghinaan dan pelecahan Amerika terhadap Indonesia.

Hal ini merupakan pelecehan karena menkeu Indonesia itu masih dalam pemeriksaan kasus Bank Century. Sikap dunia internasional - terutama Amerika - dalam mencampuri urusan dalam negeri Indonesia bukan hal baru. Dan kali ini tidak tertutup kemungkinan kepergian Sri Mulyani merupakan hasil negosiasi dengan Jakarta karena pemerintah belum berhasil menemukan solusi masalah yang dihadapi Sri Mulyani dan wapres Boediono. Demikian Revrisond Baswir pakar ekonomi dan politik Universitas Gajah Mada Yogyakarta.

Revrisond Baswir (RB): Saya melihat tindakan Bank Dunia merupakan bentuk penghinaan atau pelecehan yang dilakukan Amerika Serikat terhadap Indonesia. Mengapa, karena saya kira semua tahu bahwa Sri Mulyani sedang berperkara di Indonesia. Tetapi karena Sri Mulyani adalah anak emas Amerika Serikat maka mereka nampaknya tidak rela Sri Mulyani mengalami nasib yang kurang baik di Indonesia. Oleh karena itu cepat-cepat ditarik ke luar Indonesia dan ditempatkan di Bank Dunia. Semua ini tidak mungkin tanpa keterlibatan Amerika Serikat karena Amerika Serikat yang punya hak suara, punya hak veto di Bank Dunia dan Robert Zoellig adalah wakil Amerika Serikat.

Radio Nederland (RNW): Jadi sikap Bank Dunia lebih mencerminkan dukungan kepada Sri Mulyani dan bukan kepada perekonomian Indonesia ?

RB: Saya kira, iya. Jelas sekali bahwa Sri Mulyani sangat penting bagi Amerika Serikat karena memang dibina sejak lama dan oleh karena itu penyelamatan Sri Mulyani jauh lebih penting walaupun pada sisi yang lain bisa jadi ini merupakan hasil negosiasi dengan pemerintah Indonesia. Kenapa ? Karena setelah terbukti selama beberapa bulan pemerintah Indonesia sendiri tidak bisa menemukan solusi terhadap masalah yang sedang dihadapi oleh Sri Mulyani Dan wapres Boediono. Bagi pemerintah Indonesia juga merupakan semacam "exit close."

RNW: Tapi kita tahu bahwa perekonomian sebuah negara tidak bisa dilepaskan dari 'kepercayaan' dunia internasional ?

RB: Ya betul. Kalau soal kepercayaan dunia internasional tentu harus kita lihat lebih netral. Dunia internasional itu tidak saja Amerika Serikat. Ada Belanda, Perancis, Jerman dan banyak negara lain termasuk negara-negara seperti Cina, Brazil, India. Jadi saya kira terlalu melebih-lebihkan kalau kepercayaan dunia internasional itu kita tumpukan sedemikian rupa kepada sebuah lembaga yang namanya Bank Dunia.

Kenapa? Karena kalau kita mau bicara secara lebih fair sama sekali tidak ada jaminan bahwa keterlibatan Bank Dunia dalam penyaluran pinjaman di Indonesia dan di banyak negara dunia ketiga pasti berdampak positif.


RNW

Wanted: Big Foot for Indonesian finance minister

Endy M. Bayuni
The Jakarta Post
Publication Date : 14-05-2010

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati may seem small, but when she leaves for her new job as a managing director of the World Bank in Washington next month, she will leave big shoes to fill.

Most likely, her successor must have feet big enough to fill size-50 in European shoe measurements.

They don’t make this size (the largest size you will find in most stores apparently is 48.5 , or 15.5 in US measurements).

Shoes of this size are custom-ordered. And that is just the point: The finance minister is such a huge
and challenging job for any one person to handle that none of the candidates touted to succeed Mulyani is likely to be able to fill such big shoes.

We are not suggesting that Mulyani has big feet, but the 47-year-old economist has taken on such huge tasks over the last five years, from reforming the ministry, including the tax office and the customs agency, aggressively collecting more taxes from the public, managing the state budget and the nation’s economy, and no less important, representing Indonesia at the G20 meetings.

If we want to be fair, she has done a great job on all these fronts.

That the economy grew by 4.5 percent in 2009 when most of the rest of the world was contracting, was not widely appreciated. Instead, Mulyani was faulted for the one measure she believed may have spared Indonesia from a financial calamity.

The Bank Century bailout was deemed necessary to prevent the possibility of a rush on other banks that would surely have triggered another banking crisis of the scale we saw in 1998.

With tax collections increasingly becoming more important to replace income from the oil and gas sector, much of her time at the ministry was taken up overseeing the operation of the tax office, including cleaning up its act and then convincing the public to pay their taxes. In most other countries, the tax office job is so huge and complicated that it is managed independently of the Finance Ministry.

Here, under her supervision, the government has managed to increase the number of income taxpayers from 4.35 million to nearly 16 million in the last five years, and tax receipts grew by around 20 percent each year to more than Rp 600 trillion in 2010. Indonesia still has a long way to go, and the task of the new finance minister is to continue the fine work Mulyani has started.

Reforming the Finance Ministry stands to suffer the most with her departure. She succeeded where previous ministers tried and failed in breaking down the powerful resistance bureaucrats have put up.

She has had shortfalls as evidenced by the recent revelations of corruption scandals in the tax office, in spite of the reforms that included hiking the tax officers’ take-home pay to the tune of 10 times their peers in the rest of the bureaucracy. This is not so much a set back to her reform program as a reminder of the huge challenges any minister faces in reforming the bureaucracy.

Mulyani’s reform efforts were so widely recognized that when she was reappointed to the Finance Ministry at the start of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s second term in October, he asked her to handle 12 other ministries, on top of her daily job.

It is not clear if the next minister will be given the same burdensome task.

Ironically, it was probably her success that helped bring about her downfall. As she brought massive changes in the Finance Ministry, she inevitably stepped on many people’s toes and created many enemies. Some of these colluded with politicians in the House of Representatives to help push her out of the job. One person that comes to mind is the ousted tax chief Hadi Purnomo, who returned to power as chairman of the Supreme Audit Board, and who happily helped politicians produce reports they wanted to hear in bringing down Mulyani over the Bank Century case.

Another area her successor may not live up to is her performance in representing Indonesia at the G20 meetings of finance ministers. The University of Illinois-trained economist has been a popular figure at these conferences, not only because of her easy going style, but also because of the body of knowledge that she possesses. As the big economies went into recession last year, she was in a position to tell her counterparts from the US and other major economies how Indonesia came out of the devastating 1998 Asian financial crisis and then survived the global economic recession last year.

Leading the Finance Ministry must rate as the second-toughest job in the country after the presidency. Among qualifications necessary are a strong knowledge of the economy and the financial world, managerial and administrative skills, leadership and vision and good communication skills. Also important for this job are characteristics such as professionalism, toughness, resoluteness, efficiency, discipline, and a strong heart and stamina. And then there are the national and international dimensions to consider.

Mulyani may have all of the above, but she is no superwoman. Like all technocrats, she needed a political shield in order to work effectively and deliver. Sadly this protection was not forthcoming when it mattered most, as seen when she was mauled by politicians over the Bank Century bailout.

Mr. President, you may or may not have found Big Foot to replace Mulyani, but the chief lesson
from this episode is that if you don’t want to lose another finance minister in the future, you had better provide him or her with strong political cover. There are such big shoes to fill and it is a very vulnerable position politically. Even the best ones like Mulyani, can slip.

(this is a first class article according to old Kesas' musings, Is Indonesia becoming a country like South Korea, where persons elected to high governamental positions can count on a jail sentence as reward upon completion of their turn in office? Not much of an inducement to go into politics if you ask me!)

wu schreef:

en dan hier ook een Wereldomroep artikel in Bahasa:


Bank Dunia Menghina Dan Melecehkan Indonesia
Diterbitkan : 6 Mei 2010 - 2:08pm | Oleh Alfons Lasedu

Revrisond Baswir (RB): Saya melihat tindakan Bank Dunia merupakan bentuk penghinaan atau pelecehan yang dilakukan Amerika Serikat terhadap Indonesia.

RB: Saya kira, iya. Jelas sekali bahwa Sri Mulyani sangat penting bagi Amerika Serikat karena memang dibina sejak lama dan oleh karena itu penyelamatan Sri Mulyani jauh lebih penting walaupun pada sisi yang lain bisa jadi ini merupakan hasil negosiasi dengan pemerintah Indonesia. RNW

"Saya lihat ", engga salah lihat Mas ?.

"Saya kira ", engga salah kira Mas ?

Piyee toch , kayak orang engga sekolah aja .
Wadoeh , payah dese.