T

his letter refers to '€œResearchers complain about lack of funds,'€ (The Jakarta Post, Sept. 6).

 Doing research work for the government has revealed a shortage of funds as stated by Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) chairman Lukman Hakim.

This has happened before, Jusuf Kalla, then vice president to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his first term of office, remarked that he didn'€™t know what the research body was doing and what results were expected. I would excuse Kalla as he hails from a business background and research programs then were unfamiliar to him.

As for Jokowi, there is a promise of more support, but not to the tune of Rp 80 trillion (US$7 billion), which should suffice for costs expended annually by the institute.

I wonder how, in the absence of unclear details, Lukman would expect the Finance Ministry to allocate the funds he requires.

In Singapore, the ministry allocates whatever is appropriate for each year'€™s expenditure and adds some more where necessary. Isn'€™t this the norm? In Malaysia, their allocation differs due to the research that is taking place in different centers throughout the country.

The aviation industry proved successful under former president BJ Habibie as he promised quick returns without the need for a massive workforce but his theory proved useless because the big profits did not reach the man in the street and for this reason people especially in the rural areas chose to turn to the palm oil business which has mushroomed until today.

Certainly donations from rich individuals and corporations can make research programs more practical and meaningful as practiced by many countries '€” but only if there is political will.

Luwanto
Jakarta