Finance Minister Purbaya Tells STAN Students: State Budget Is Not Just a Table
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has reminded that Indonesia’s competitiveness amid shifting global economic conditions is determined not only by natural resource wealth, but also by human resource quality, governance and the integrity of the state apparatus.
Purbaya delivered the message during a public lecture at the peak of the 11th Dies Natalis of the PKN STAN State Finance Polytechnic in South Tangerang on Friday (10/7/2026).
According to him, the world is currently undergoing major change driven by tariff wars, shifts in global supply chains, technological developments, the energy transition and geopolitical dynamics. Under such conditions, Indonesia cannot avoid the impact and must be able to respond swiftly through adaptive policies and credible fiscal management.
“The world is changing and change does not wait for us to be ready. The question is no longer whether we are affected. We will certainly be affected. The question is whether we are quick enough to read the direction of change, disciplined enough in safeguarding the state budget, and brave enough to fix governance,” Purbaya said.
He emphasised that the state budget (APBN) is a strategic instrument to promote public welfare. However, because government spending accounts for only a small share of national economic activity, fiscal management must act as a catalyst for the private sector, which is the main engine of economic growth.
To that end, the government continues to strengthen fiscal management quality through discipline in maintaining the deficit, debt sustainability, and optimisation of state cash management to support liquidity and economic activity.
Purbaya assessed that global competition today is increasingly determined by the quality of institutions capable of delivering legal certainty, bureaucratic efficiency and public trust.
In that context, the state apparatus has a strategic role in enhancing Indonesia’s competitiveness.
“Later, your role will determine whether we can compete in the global market. Clean customs, clean taxation and the streamlining of our policies will influence Indonesia’s competitiveness in both the domestic and world markets. So study properly, because our fate will depend on all of you,” Purbaya told the PKN STAN students.
He also reminded that mastery of science and technology must go hand in hand with character development and integrity.
In his view, systems can be built, technology can be purchased, and organisations can be improved. Integrity, however, is a foundation that must be guarded from the very beginning.
“Ministries can be trained, systems can be built, technology can be bought, but integrity must be guarded from the start, every day, especially when no one is watching,” he asserted.
Purbaya said PKN STAN students are not merely prospective civil servants, but prospective guardians of public trust who will determine the quality of state financial management in the future.
“All of you are future guardians of public trust. The state budget is not merely a table of revenue and expenditure, but the way the state is present in the lives of its people,” he said.
At the close of the public lecture, Purbaya praised PKN STAN’s contribution in producing outstanding talent for the Finance Ministry and various government agencies. According to him, on the road to Golden Indonesia 2045, Indonesia will need ever more professional, adaptive and principled state financial managers to safeguard fiscal sustainability while strengthening national competitiveness.