Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – A special staffer of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani for Strategic Communications, Yustinus Prastowo, rebutted the statement that Indonesia is a systemic failed state. He asserted that it is a baseless argument because the country records stable and high economic growth.

"Indonesia is not a failed state. In fact, we are an upper middle-income country with stable and high economic growth of 5 percent," Prastowo said on his personal Twitter @prastow on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

He explained that the total budget for education and health in the 2022 State Budget (APBN) amounted to Rp649 trillion, reaching 168 percent of debt interest of Rp386 trillion.

In detail, the education budget was 472.6 trillion and the health budget was Rp176.7 trillion. "Even if it's added with the health allocation provided in the regional budget of Rp249 trillion, the total health budget becomes Rp426 trillion," Prastowo tweeted.

In 2023, the education and health budgets increased to a total of Rp791 trillion, or Rp612.3 trillion and Rp178.7 trillion, respectively. Meanwhile, the debt interest was Rp441.4 trillion. The ratio of education and health budgets compared to debt interest was 179 percent.

Besides, Prastowo stressed that Indonesia has never defaulted on payments throughout its history, "which is proven by Indonesia's credit rating at an investment grade level. The global credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's (S&P), affirms that Indonesia's credit rating remains at BBB, with a stable outlook."

Prastowo said this is a reflection of Indonesia's success in performing rapid fiscal consolidation supported by solid revenue growth. "Including a well-calibrated fiscal-monetary policy."

Previously, Managing Director of Political Economy and Policy Studies, Anthony Budiawan, opined that Indonesia is on the list of a systemic failed state, referring to a statement by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

In a video posted by Anthony, Antonio Guterres said that a country that pays loan interest exceeding the health or education budget is a systemic failed state.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1750141/indonesia-not-a-systemic-failed-state-sri-mulyanis-staffer-assert