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House halts meetings on budget cuts for 'reconstruction'
On Monday, President Prabowo expressed frustration over resistance to the budget cuts within “the bureaucracy”.
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President Prabowo Subianto greets Red and White Cabinet members ahead of a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Jan. 22, 2025. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A )
H
ouse of Representatives deputy speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad has ordered all House commission chairs to suspend meetings on budget cuts ordered by President Prabowo Subianto amid complaints from lawmakers and government officials regarding the plan.
President Prabowo issued a presidential instruction on Jan. 23 directing all ministries and state agencies to identify spending areas that could be trimmed to save an estimated Rp 306 trillion (US$18.7 billion). The savings are intended to fund costly priority initiatives, including expanding the administration’s flagship free meals program.
Following this directive, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati asked ministers and agency heads to identify potential cuts and consult with their respective House commission partners by Feb. 14.
However, in a letter dated Friday, Dasco ordered the House’s commissions to postpone the discussions.
Dasco, also a longtime aide to Prabowo and a senior executive in his Gerindra Party, cited the need for "reconstruction" of the planned cuts from some ministries as the reason for the delay, adding that discussions should only resume after the administration had finalized the adjustments.
On Monday, President Prabowo expressed frustration over resistance to the budget cuts from “the bureaucracy” of his own administration.
He referred to those opposing his plan as naughty, stubborn and thieves, accusing them of using nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the media to attack his plan.
