Returning Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to Push Structural Reforms Through: Economist
Jakarta. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the former finance minister under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005-2010, has returned to her post after a cabinet reshuffle announced by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Wednesday (27/07).
Prior to her reappointment, Sri Mulyani has been the World Bank's managing director for six years.
Her comeback is expected to speed up structural reforms in Indonesia, as well as increasing market optimism in the country, according to a leading economist.
"The market will react positively, Sri Mulyani is popular among investors. And I think she has the strong character needed to implement structural reforms, which the previous finance minister didn't have," Syarif Hidayatullah, an economist at the Wiratama Institute told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
"The government has been trying to improve investment climate — as can be seen in the last twelve economic policy packages — by encouraging structural reforms, like simplifying regulations and cutting through bureaucratic red tapes. But the execution of those policies is still lacking," Syarif said.
"Sri Mulyani has proved she could push structural reforms through when she was a finance minister before," Syarif said.
According to Syarif, the government desperately needs strong characters in the cabinet, including people who can say "no" to president when necessary, a quality which has been missing in Jokowi's previous cabinets.
"For example, no one said anything when the 2015 tax income target was increased to 33 percent while our tax growth was only 10 to 12 percent at the time," Syarif said.
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