Sri Mulyani Expressed The Terms Of The Republic Of Indonesia To Be An Advanced Country: Investment And Development Should Not Be Postponed

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that for Indonesia to become a developed, prosperous, just, and dignified country, investment in the development sector is needed that cannot be postponed.

According to him, one of the most important developments is the provision of educational facilities. This was revealed by the Minister of Finance during a visit to the Malang State Islamic University (UIN) campus.

The state treasurer revealed that the construction of this campus used a source of APBN financing from the issuance of state sharia securities (SBSN).

"The name is sharia but still in debt, which means we pay back and that's okay, continue to use sharia, the instruments are designed according to sharia principles, remain financial and Islamicly managed, well managed, paid back properly. That is what is called the state's financial effort to build the entire Indonesian people, especially the younger generation, so that they can continue to progress, become generations that can continue to achieve the ideals of independence of the Republic of Indonesia," he said on Sunday, January 22.

The Minister of Finance explained the construction of several other state Islamic universities in Indonesia which were built from various alternative sources of financing. Among them came from the Saudi Fund for development (SFD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) amounting to IDR 7.3 trillion.

"For loans that are currently active at IDR 2.75 trillion, we have paid back those that are not active. There are UIN Alauddin, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati, UIN Raden Fatah Palembang, UIN Walisongo Semarang, UIN Mataram, UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, Raden Intan Lampung National Institute of Islamic Religion, IAIN Sultan Taha Saifudin Jambi, IAIN Antasari Banjarmasin, IAIN Imam Bonjol Padang, and IAIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten. We built everything with state money, indeed, we borrowed first but we paid using state money," he said.

The Minister of Finance added that the largest development financing certainly came from the APBN which reached up to Rp9.6 trillion. Through the State Sharia Securities Project or Project Based Sukuk (PBS) which was used to build various State Islamic universities in Indonesia from 2015 to 2023, totaling up to 199 projects.

We at the Ministry of Finance as state treasurers will continue to carry out our duty to maintain state finances into reliable instruments for development. To protect the people when the people face threats such as a pandemic. To protect the public at a time when they face shocks such as oil prices that have soared 2-3 times. That's using state money. This extraordinary oscillation can destroy a country, an economy, and a nation and society. The state budget is usually a shock absorber, which is a barrier to shocks," he stressed.

"The Minister of Finance hopes that the facilities built using APBN funds in this case are Malang State Islamic University Maulana Malik Ibrahim will be able to become a world-class university and the best in the world. "So don't just think of local classes or national classes, the ambition is to become world-class. And I haqqul believe it can be carried out by the academic community," closed the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.