Kwik Kian Gie Watch And Comment On Rizal Ramli's Attitude That Made Sri Mulyani The Target Of Shooting Food Taxes

Senior economist Kwik Kian Gie. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs for the period 2015-2016 Rizal Ramli (RR) on Karni Ilyas' Youtube channel last weekend regarding the government's intention to impose a tax levy (VAT) on basic goods received a response from the Coordinating Minister for the Economy for the period 1999-2000 Kwik Kian Gie.

"So really the government is very pro and the big ones are already rich and oppress the poor", said Rizal Ramli on Youtube Karni Ilyas when comparing the tax incentives for the automotive sector with the basic food tax plan.

According to Kwik, Rizal simply highlighted the government's attitude, in this case, the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, who was considered to lack empathy for the people in the midst of the pressure of the pandemic.

Kwik added that RR, Rizal Ramli's nickname, has a quite different view from Sri Mulyani in state financial management matters even though both have obtained doctoral degrees from prestigious universities in the United States.

He suspected that RR did not fully know the diplomatic style carried out by the government and Sri Mulyani with foreign parties related to efforts to regulate state finances.

“Watching RR, I was curious as to whether SMI (Sri Mulyani) who has a doctorate from the University of Illinois is inferior in knowledge compared to one who is also a doctor from Boston University. Doesn't SMI have strong reasons that RR doesn't know?", said Kwik Kian Gie through his personal Twitter account, Sunday, June 13.

Kwik then had the opportunity to also reveal his experience during the negotiation process with foreign parties regarding state financing. At that time, he had to meet with Indonesia's creditors, namely the IMF, World Bank, and CGI to convey the intention of rescheduling the country's debt.

In fact, he and the Minister of Finance at the time, Bambang Sudibyo, intended to bully creditors into providing some easing. But unfortunately, this intention seems to have been discovered.

He and Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo were then 'escorted' by Prof. Widjojo Nitisastro and Sri Mulyati Indrawati who are part of the National Economic Council (DEN) chaired by Prof. Emil Salim. The DEN, which was formed in 1999, was tasked with providing strategic input to overcome the current economic crisis.

"Who is keeping me from being harsh? None other than Prof. Dr. Widjojo Nitisastro and Dr. Sri Mulyati Indrawati. We sat from 10:00 am to 10:00 am the next day. That is how tight the guard against the Coordinating Minister (KKG) and the Minister of Finance (Bambang Sudibyo), so as not to be harsh and not be rude to the counterparts", he said.

Kwik understands very well that his task is very heavy when guarding the Indonesian economy out of the multidimensional crisis at that time. However, he had no choice but to accept and run the soft loan mechanism offered by the IMF.