Bogor – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto emphasised that the state budget efficiency that is being carried out by his administration does not disrupt daily operations. The saved budget will be diverted to programmes that are more beneficial to the wider community, such as the provision of fertilisers and school repairs.

Prabowo said this when speaking at a gathering of the Advanced Indonesia Coalition (KIM) at his residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, Friday (14/2). He also invited political parties in his coalition to support this austerity measure.

‘Indeed, I want to implement efficiency, but it is clear that this efficiency does not interfere with daily operations,’ Prabowo said.

Prabowo also emphasised that the confusing issue of cutting the salaries of the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) due to austerity measures was untrue.

‘The narrative of the salary cut issue is not true,’ he said.

Prabowo said that this austerity measure involves reducing non-essential activities, such as official trips abroad.

‘So after all the official trips, seminars, FGDs, forum group discussions, what was discussed? The people need mitigation, the people need fertiliser, the people need seeds, schools need to be repaired. No more seminars,’ he said.

Prabowo said the savings made so far reached around Rp 300 trillion without touching important ongoing programmes, including in the field of education.

‘We have saved around Rp 300 trillion. None of the current programmes have been touched, let alone education,’ he explained.

Previously, on the same day, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani emphasised the criteria for government activities affected by the government’s budget efficiency.

‘The efficiency criteria of the ministries of institutions that we do concern activity criteria, namely official travel, seminars, stationery, commemorations, and celebrations and other ceremonial activities,’ Sri Mulyani said at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday.

Thus, this efficiency policy will not affect the layoff of honorary employees, the UKT fee for State Universities (PTN), and the Indonesia Smart Card (KIP) scholarship.

‘This step should not, I repeat, should not affect the decision of universities regarding UKT,’ Sri Mulyani said. (RR)