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Lawmakers support Jokowi's budget
President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo is likely to pass his latest political hurdle â the deliberation of the revised 2015 state budget â after lawmakers openly declared their support for the infrastructure-focused budget and the new fuel subsidy system
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resident Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo is likely to pass his latest political hurdle ' the deliberation of the revised 2015 state budget ' after lawmakers openly declared their support for the infrastructure-focused budget and the new fuel subsidy system.
Legislators from the opposition Red-and-White Coalition, which controls the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, also claimed they had no intention to obstruct the deliberation of the budget, the approval of which would be crucial for the President's economic development plan.
House Budget Committee chairman Ahmadi Noor Supit said on Monday that he was satisfied with the fuel subsidy reallocation and infrastructure development plans included in the budget, as well as the government's effort to push up state revenues.
'The budget is now in healthier shape because the fuel subsidy reallocation has provided the government with ample fiscal space,' he told reporters after his meeting with top economic ministers concerning the budget.
The meeting was the first discussion since the government submitted the revised 2015 state budget draft to the House last week. By law, the budget's revision must be approved four weeks after it is proposed, in this case Feb. 12 at the latest, according to lawmakers.
If the budget is delayed or even rejected by the House, then all Jokowi's economic programs will be shelved, with the President being forced to use the old budget formulated by his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
'We don't have the slightest political intention to obstruct it [the budget deliberation process],' said Ahmadi from the Golkar Party, member of the opposition camp.
In the draft of the revised 2015 state budget, total state income is estimated to exceed Rp 1.76 quadrillion (US$139 billion), most of which will come from tax revenues targeted to hit Rp 1.48 quadrillion, an increase of Rp 104 billion compared to the initial budget.
Meanwhile, total state expenses are predicted to stand at Rp 1.99 quadrillion, with spending for fuel subsidies shrinking to Rp 81.8 trillion this year from the initial allocation of Rp 276 trillion because of falling global oil prices and the new fuel subsidy system implemented by Jokowi.
The allocation for capital expenditure spending, which includes capital investment as well as growth-generating infrastructure projects, will be raised to Rp 290 trillion from Rp 190 trillion in the original budget.
'I hereby give the highest appreciation to the Jokowi administration for its commitment to infrastructure, as we noticed a dramatic alteration in the spending allocation for infrastructure and subsidies,' said Djoko Udjianto, deputy chairman of the House Budget Committee and member of the Democratic Party.
If passed into law, the revised budget would be a significant boost for economic growth at the regional level, he predicted.
The revised 2015 state budget, seen as a crucial stepping stone for Jokowi in his bid to spur economic growth to 7 pewrcent during his presidency, would need approval from the House plenary meeting in which Jokowi's camp, the Great Indonesia Coalition, only controls 46 percent of 560 seats.
'I think this budget should be supported by the [opposition coalition],' suggested Jamaluddin Jafar, deputy chairman of the House Budget Committee and member of the National Mandate Party (PAN) of the opposition camp.
'There's no such thing as [opposing coalitions] anymore ' the House Budget Committee has already united as one.'
