Jakarta, Aug. 19 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Finance has denied a viral video allegedly showing Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati saying that teachers are a burden to the state, calling it a hoax.

"The video claiming that teachers are a burden to the state is a hoax. The Minister of Finance never made such a statement," said Deni Surjantoro, head of the ministry's Communication and Information Services Bureau, on Tuesday.

He clarified that the video was a deepfake and an edited excerpt from Sri Mulyani's speech at the Indonesian Science, Technology, and Industry Convention Forum at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on August 7.

In her remarks, Sri Mulyani had been discussing budget allocations for teachers and lecturers.

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