JAKARTA, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has sacked finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and appointed his deputy Suahasil Nazara as his replacement, the president’s office said on Monday.
Suahasil Nazara, deputy finance minister since 2019, was among the senior officials who arrived at the state palace for a swearing-in ceremony, while Purbaya, 61, was earlier seen leaving in the middle of a parliamentary hearing.
“The priority is to run a credible state budget,” Suahasil said after his inauguration, adding he would commit to maintaining the fiscal deficit below the legislated limit of 3% of GDP.
“I will continue to run a trustworthy state budget, ensure trustworthy public communication, and also ensure that what the state budget does supports the government’s priority programs.”
Purbaya’s sacking came just days after he marked one year in office, with Southeast Asia’s largest economy suffering a crisis of confidence from investors and analysts.
The straight-talking Purbaya had replaced long-standing finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in September last year as Prabowo sought aggressive pro-growth policies over fiscal prudence. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Purbaya’s time in office was marked by a number of economic shocks, including a plummeting rupiah currency and a ballooning fiscal deficit. His policy of injecting quick liquidity into banks to spur growth also created friction with the central bank.
Two ratings agencies downgraded Indonesia’s credit rating outlook from positive to negative this year, citing policy uncertainty and fiscal spending plans, battering sentiment on the $1.4 trillion G20 economy.
The latest controversy surrounding Purbaya was his sudden announcement that sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia would transfer 120 trillion rupiah ($6.8 billion) of its profits to the government to help meet this year’s fiscal deficit target. The head of Danantara later said no such plan was discussed.
(Reporting by Jakarta bureau; Editing by Martin Petty and John Mair)
