Govt earmarks Rp 112t for crisis mitigation

The government has allocated Rp 112 trillion (US$11.7 billion) to help cushion the impact of the global financial crisis should it heavily impact on Indonesia this year, said Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo.

The fund, he said, was on top of an emergency fund worth more than $20 billion allocated to help keep the currency and government bonds stable.

"We have enough emergency funds to help people cope with the crisis," he said.

The Rp 112 trillion emergency fund is, among other things, aimed at subsidizing food, energy, health and employment.

"We've put all the necessary measures in place to cushion the impact of the global crisis," said deputy finance minister Mahendra Siregar.

"The threat [of the crisis] is imminent. I believe 50 percent of the crisis is caused by falling confidence while the remaining half by economic fundamentals," said Mahendra. (mtq)