ANGGITO ABIMAYU BACK TO CAMPUS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 22 (ANTARA) - The Finance Ministry's head of  fiscal policies, Anggito Abimanyu, who was widely considered to be  one of the strong candidates to replace Sri Mulyani quit his post earlier this week after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono named somebody else to head the ministry.          Anggito, who had actually been serving as  deputy finance minister since January, decided to resign following the appointment of Agus Martowardojo as the finance minister and Anny Ratnawati, the finance ministry's director general of budget affairs, as  deputy finance minister.          Did  he quit his job as fiscal policy division head due to his disappointment? Where will he go after his 10 years of service  with the finance ministry?     "I do not question the appointment of Anny Ratnawati as the deputy finance minister. But I felt that my professional pride has been offended," he said. He said he would go back to campus to resume his career as an educator.          Anggito had signed a kind of contract as deputy  finance minister in January but so far he could not  be officially installed because his civil service rank had not yet reached to the required level.          He was one of strong candidates to replace outgoing Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who will assume the post of managing director at the World Bank on June 1.          Therefore, Anggito was believed to be disappointed by the appointment of Anny Ratnawati, because he had previously signed a kind of contract as vice finance minister.          He said that his resignation was due to the fact that his professional pride had been hurt. "One should not misunderstand. I am not seeking a post. I resign because I feel I have been  professionally  belittled," he said.          Anggito said he had resigned because he was also willing to return to the academic world at his campus, the Yogyakarta-based Gajah Mada University (UGM) as a lecturer.          "I have my own choice now, and I have decided to return to the UGM which actually has been my will since the beginning. I have been (serving at the finance ministry) for ten years, and now is the time for me to return," he said.           He said that he had been waiting for his official appointment as the vice finance minister for six months but there had been no decision made until now. "So, when the definitive vice minister has been appointed, it is now time for me to return to UGM," he added.           In response to Anggito's decision to resign, Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa expressed hope that he would remain in  the government's service.          "I have talked to Anggito at the transfer of post for the new finance minister about the fact that we still need his services," Hatta Rajasa said.          The coordinating minister for economic affairs said that Anggito was a good, hard working and tough person. "I hope we will be still together in the government," he said.          Though Hatta Rajasa hoped he would remain in the government's service, Anggito is firm on his decision to quit the ministry of finance. He said he had been allowed by the new finance minister to quit.          "Pak (Mr) Agus said he was sincere when he let me go. He also understood why I should go soon as otherwise it would disrupt the state budget," he said on the sidelines of the parting ceremony between outgoing finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and her successor Agus Martowardojo here on Friday night.           Anggito said the new finance minister would soon relieve him of his duties as head of the finance ministry's fiscal policy division. He said he would be relieved of his tasks as of Monday, May 24, 2010, but promised to keep providing the ministry of finance with inputs and support.          "I decided to quit. He understood my decision and relieved  me from the tasks. I promised I would continue to provide assistance from outside," he said.          Economic observer Sri Edi Swasono of the University of Indonesia (UI) said the step taken by Anggito to resign was quite reasonable because he was deeply disillusioned with the failure to assume the deputy finance minister's post.          "This must be taken as a valuable lesson so that the state would really serve as a place for civilized society. I don't know how he feels it but if it were me I would have been very disappointed," he said.          He said that even though he regretted what befell Anggito, yet he still criticized the economic views Anggito was professing, namely neolibralism which was pro-market. "I hope his return to the Gajah Mada University would not spread the neoliberalism idea to the campus.          Edi Swasono said he hoped that Anggito Abimanyu would return to the constitutional economy so that when he gave a lecture to his students the materials would be in accordance with the constitutional economy.          "The constitutional economy is a system which refers to Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution and is not fully taking side with the free market system," he said.     (T.A014/A/HAJM/20:45/H-YH)22-05-2010 20:55:0