TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Three former finance ministers Boediono, Sri Mulyani and Chatib Basri, met and talked about the financial crisis in the seminar dubbed "Challenges in Managing the State Budget throughout the Time", which was held at the Finance Ministry Building in Jakarta, Wednesday, November 30.
Boediono was Finance Minister from August 2001-October 2004; Sri Mulyani is the current Finance Minister who also served from December 2005-October 2009; while Basri held the post from May 2013-October 2014.
According to Boediono, crises are like an earthquake; we cannot predict when and where it will happen, and how big it would be. The most important thing is for the government to be prepared for it.
Boediono said that needs to be a systematic defense mechanism to minimize the impact of crises, as they are undetected and cannot be prevented easily.
"We improve the structure of our economy. If it is not balanced, it will be easy to shake. It is long-term indeed, but must be pursued," he said.
Boediono also stressed the importance of coordination between institutions in charge of addressing crises as they happen. Therefore, a clear standard operating procedure is required.
Sri Mulyani shares a similar sentiment, saying that when a crisis occurs a leader will put on a test to see if he/she has the courage and will to fight against their comfort zone.
"The toughest part for a leader during a time of crisis is to take policies that are against their comfort zones; how to fight the intuition to save ourselves," she said.
Meanwhile, Basri stressed the importance of good cooperation between agencies of the Financial System Stability Coordination committee; the Finance Ministry, Bank Indonesia, the OJK, and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS). He also stressed the importance of good communication with the international world, the public, and the Parliament.
"We cannot predict crises. I myself has always asked to conduct pressure tests to see if we can survive [crises] or not," said Basri.
