TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Responding to the criticism from the House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon, Presidential spokesman Johan Budi stated that there were no special treatments the government did to welcome IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
“IMF was welcomed, as usual, it was proportional,” said Johan Budi in a text message that we received today on Wednesday, February 28.
Previously reported, Fadli Zon criticized the government for welcoming an IMF higher-up as if the country was welcoming a king.
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However, Johan Budi said argued Fadli’s accusation by mentioning the time President Jokowi took Christine Lagarde to the Tanah Abang market, which is considered as a common people’s market, “So where is the element of being treated like a king?” said Budi.
Fadli Zon’s pessimism comes from his view on the IMF. He argues that an IMF policy once destroyed Indonesia’s economy 20 years ago. “We were praised, just as we are being praised currently. Even the World Bank called us the East Asia Miracle. But then a crisis suddenly hit us,” said Fadli at the DPR office complex on Tuesday, February 27.
Fadli claims that he was one of the many people who academically studied about IMF and how the organization caused the international crisis. It is the reason why he rejects how the Palace has treated the welcoming of the IMF Managing Director.
FRISKI RIANA
