Yustinus Prastowo Bela Sri Mulyani Who Was Rebuked By Bamsoet For Not Attending The MPR Meeting: Scheduled Together

Special Staff of the Minister of Finance Yustinus Prastowo when following the agenda of the parliament meeting some time ago. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Special Staff to the Minister of Finance Yustinus Prastowo responded to the statement by the Chairman of the MPR RI Bambang Soesatyo (Bamsoet) who alluded to the absence of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani in several parliamentary meeting agendas.

"Twice were invited to meet, namely July 27, 2021, together with the President's internal meeting which must be attended so that the Deputy Minister of Finance is represented. On September 28, 2021, along with the DPR Banggar meeting to discuss the APBN and the Minister of Finance must be present, it was decided that the meeting with the MPR was postponed," Yustinus said on Wednesday, December 1.

In addition, Sri Mulyani's subordinates also explained the issue of the MPR budget cuts that occurred throughout this year. According to Yustinus, this is a must that must be carried out considering the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country is a top priority.

"Regarding the MPR budget, it is known that in 2021 Indonesia will face a surge in COVID-19 due to the delta variant. All ministry/institutional budgets must be refocused 4 times, the aim is to assist the handling of COVID-19 due to the very high cost of patient care (from Rp. 63.51 trillion to Rp. 96.86 trillion), accelerated vaccination (Rp. 47.6 trillion), and implementation of PPKM in various regions," he said.

Yustinus ensured that what the government did to the budget of the highest state institution, the MPR, was in accordance with the rules of the applicable laws and regulations.

"The budget is also focused on helping the poor by increasing social assistance, helping subsidize workers' wages and helping MSMEs because they cannot work with the implementation of PPKM level 4. Budgets for MPR leaders and activities are still supported according to the APBN mechanism," he said.

To note, earlier this week, MPR Chair Bambang Soesatyo delivered a firm statement regarding the attitude of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani who was considered absent from the agenda for the meeting in parliament.

"He has been invited several times by the MPR leadership, Sri Mulyani has never come. Two days before being invited to a meeting, he always cancels coming. This shows that Sri Mulyani does not respect the MPR as a high state institution," said Bamsoet in a written statement received by VOI on Wednesday, December 1.