Sri Mulyani Receives Leadership Award From Washington: Considered Saving The National And World Economy

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani is reported to have just received the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award or the Leadership and Service Award from the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

IIF considers the appreciation given as a form of recognition to individuals who have consistently made outstanding contributions to the health of the global economy and financial system with their leadership.

"This award shows that the hard work carried out by the Minister of Finance as a leader and as a public figure has contributed to saving not only domestic economic stability, but also the world," said a press statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Finance as quoted on Tuesday, September 12.

She also said that this achievement was a source of pride for the Ministry of Finance as an institution under Sri Mulyani's leadership.

While in her presentation, the Minister of Finance emphasized that the Indonesian government had carried out various strategic policies to manage the situation and risks that existed due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, a number of these steps include policies to deal with the pandemic, tax reforms including the imposition of carbon taxes and the role of the private sector in controlling climate change, as well as Indonesia's G20 Presidency next year.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, the main objective of the Indonesian government has focused on efforts to protect public health, maintain people's purchasing power, and protect business actors from bankruptcy," she said.

In detail, the Minister of Finance explained that the government's response was consistently focused on three aspects, namely health interventions, safety and recovery equipment, and a sustainable structural reform agenda.

“Fiscal support continues to be channeled for efforts to deal with the pandemic, such as 3T (testing, tracing, treatment), free vaccination, and incentives for health workers. We are targeting to be able to carry out vaccinations for 208 million people or 416 million vaccine injections," she said.

Furthermore, another important part is the effort to reform taxation through the Law on Harmonization of Tax Regulations (UU HPP) which was agreed with the DPR on October 7, 2021.

“This reform is carried out to create a tax system that is fairer, provides legal certainty, and is efficient in terms of compliance and administrative costs. The new breakthrough in the HPP Law and getting international attention is the introduction of a carbon tax,” she said.

For information, the award received by Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani was confirmed in Washington DC when IIF held its annual meeting on October 11, 2021. It was stated that the prestigious award from the global institution involved 400 members from 70 countries, including Indonesia.