Personal Flower Painting Vanished During Looting, Sri Mulyani: Sense of Security Gone

Sri Mulyani's painting (Photo: IG Sri Mulyani)

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed the heartbreaking story of the looting that occurred at her residence, including one of the stolen items: a flower painting of her own creation, which holds deep emotional and personal meaning.

In a post on her official Instagram account, @smindrawati, she described the perpetrator as a man wearing a red jacket and black helmet who appeared to be carrying the painting out of the house calmly and confidently.

"The man in the red jacket and black helmet was seen carrying a fairly large oil painting of flowers on canvas. He calmly and confidently carried the loot out of my private home, which was the target of a looting operation on Sunday, early in the morning of August 2025," Sri Mulyani wrote on Wednesday, September 3.

Sri Mulyani emphasized that while the perpetrator may have had only monetary value, for her, the painting was a reflection and self-contemplation, created 17 years ago, and holds many family memories, including those of her children's upbringing.

According to Sri Mulyani, the loss represents something larger, such as the loss of a sense of security, legal certainty, and just and civilized humanitarian values ​​in the country.

"The Flower Painting has vanished, just as the sense of security, legal certainty, and just and civilized humanity has disappeared in Indonesia," she added.

She also criticized the behavior of the looters, who appeared to celebrate their actions, even casually interviewing the media and admitting to the items they had taken. Videos of the looting went viral on social media, creating a situation described as intimidation hysteria.

"It's giving rise to cruel intimidation hysteria. The law has been lost, common sense has been lost, civilization and decency have been lost, and humanity has collapsed. They don't care about the wounds they've inflicted and the shattered dignity they've left behind. Absurd...!" she explained.

Sri Mulyani also highlighted a far more painful incident, namely the loss of life during anarchic demonstrations, and called the incident part of a dark tragedy in Indonesian history.

"That gray Sunday at the end of August, there were victims far more valuable than just my paintings: the irreplaceable loss of human lives. Affan Kurniawan, Muhammad Akbar Basri, Sarinawati, Syaiful Akbar, Rheza Sendy Pratama, Rusdamdiansyah, Sumari. It brought deep sorrow to the families. It was a dark tragedy for Indonesia," he said.

Sri Mulyani reminded us that in a riot, no one truly wins; all that remains is the destruction of common sense, the collapse of hope, and the destruction of the foundations of national life.

"Indonesia is our shared home. Don't let it happen and don't give in to these destructive forces. Protect and continue to repair Indonesia together, tirelessly, without anger, without complaint, and without despair," she concluded.