Sri Lanka Economic Crisis 'Not Happening' in Indonesia, Says Scholar

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra in a discussion at State Islamic University (UIN Jakarta) believes Indonesia will not have the same fate as Sri Lanka in terms of the economic crisis that has erupted in the country, even despite the current global challenges.

"Indonesia has a fairly strong economic power. Foreign exchange is quite good. So I don't see that (the Sri Lankan crisis)," said Azyumardi Azra in the discussion touted 'The Role of Indonesian Islam in a Just World Order' on Wednesday, July 20.

"Even though there are no symptoms, such potential (Sri Lanka), we still have to be careful, we need to make efforts for peace, social stability, social integrity, along with other aspects,” said the seasoned scholar. 

Azyumardi in his presentation acknowledged that the majority of conflicts and injustices around the world occur in the Muslim world such as Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Another extreme example is the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The same friction, according to Azyumardi, could happen in Indonesia. If problems such as economic and social inequality, such as unemployment and poverty are increasingly unstoppable.

Sri Lanka's finances are crippled by debt that has accumulated due to the massive development focus of the post-civil war that ended in 2009. The government has invested heavily in roads and ports.

In addition, the tax cuts imposed by the regime of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also made the economy slump. Sri Lanka's foreign debt skyrocketed to US$ 51 billion or around Rp757 trillion, including to China of US$6.5 billion (Rp97.7 trillion).

DANIEL AHMAD

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