Sri Mulyani Concerning The State Budget Which Is In Shock: If Oil Directly Enters Indonesia With Soaring Prices, The People Will Not Be Able

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed that the condition of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) was experiencing a big shock. This is because the global economic turmoil has made the prices of commodities such as oil, food, and fertilizers soar.

According to Sri Mulyani, if the price that enters Indonesia has soared, the people of course will not be able to pay for it. As a result, said Ida, the state budget will inevitably have to absorb this huge shock.

"Today, the state budget is in a big shock. Oil prices are going up, food prices are going up, fertilizers are going up. If oil prices go directly to Indonesia with soaring prices, people will definitely not be able to afford it. So we absorb this big shock," he said in Podkabs Episode 6 on the YouTube Secretariat of the Indonesian Cabinet, quoted on Tuesday 9 August.

In fact, he said, to be a good fiscal tool, the state budget must be healthy. But in reality, the state budget sometimes has to work hard as happened during the two-year pandemic.

According to him, this is a dilemma because the state budget must remain healthy in order to protect the people and the economy, but on the other hand, the state budget sometimes needs to work very hard to become a shock absorber. In addition, the internal challenge in implementing the APBN is how the Ministry of Finance must be able to manage the APBN.

In terms of revenues, such as taxes, customs and excise, as well as non-tax state revenues (PNBP), Sri Mulyani continued, they must work in accordance with economic potential.

"If there is a potential tax, it must be accepted. Do not let it leak, there is no corruption," said the former Managing Director of the World Bank.

Likewise in terms of shopping. Ministry/agency spending must also be done well. Therefore, according to him, the internal challenges in implementing the APBN are good design and good execution.

"And we must continue to look at economic conditions, because we see them changing. We can't 'Oh, the state budget has to be like this', it can't be like that. Very dynamic, what is called volatility, we must also be able to maintain," he concluded.