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Govt under fire over extravagant Independence Day bill
As public backlash grows amid daily hardships, the President has said the increased budget for this year's Independence Day celebrations in Jakarta and Nusantara was "justifiable", while certain officials have either deferred questions or dismissed reports on extravagant costs.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (front) sits alongside State Secretary Pratikno while inspecting a room at the Presidential Office in Nusantara on July 29, 2024, their first day of work in the country’s future capital in East Kalimantan. (Antara/Mentari Dwi Gayati)
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ritics have lambasted the government for what they deem as excessive spending on this year’s Independence Day festivities in both Jakarta and Nusantara, the country’s future capital under construction in East Kalimantan.
The ballooning budget has sparked public outrage, with many questioning the priorities of an administration facing economic headwinds.
Chico Hakim, a spokesperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), called the celebration’s expanded budget “wasteful”, especially in view of the growing financial struggles hundreds of millions of people faced, and urged the government to be more prudent with taxpayers’ money.
“It’s a waste. [It is] A display of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s insensitivity as his term ends [amid] growing financial struggles faced by the public, such as mass layoffs, rising prices of basic commodities and the soaring cost of education,” Chico said on Saturday, as quoted by Media Indonesia.
Read also: Government ramps up preparation for first Independence Day in Nusantara
Lawmaker Guspardi Gaus of the National Mandate Party (PAN) echoed Chico’s sentiment, demanding transparency about public expenditure on planned celebrations in the future capital to mark the country’s 79th Independence Day.
“The public might see the government as being out of touch with the economic hardship [they face], especially regarding the government renting around 1,000 luxury cars and hundreds of hotel rooms for guests attending the celebrations in Nusantara,” Guspardi, who is also a member of House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs, said on Sunday, as quoted by CNBC Indonesia.
