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Govt expands efficiency policy to include National Police, Defense Ministry
After a bumpy start to implementing the President's instruction to slash budgets across ministeries and agencies, including some "misinterpretation", the government has decided to include 13 out of 16 institutions that were initially exempt from the sweeping efficiency policy.
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President Prabowo Subianto (center) welcomes a member of his Red and White Cabinet during a special retreat for newly installed ministers and select aides held on Oct. 24-27, 2024, at the Indonesian Military (TNI) Academy in Magelang, Central Java. (AFP/Gerindra Party)
T
he government has decided to expand President Prabowo Subianto's efficiency policy to include previously exempt institutions in a bid to spread out the burden and ease belt-tightening for some ministries and agencies.
The budget cutting measure initially excluded 16 state institutions, but 13 of these learned they were now subject to the measure over a series of work meetings with the House of Representatives on Wednesday and Thursday, some behind closed doors.
Said Abdullah, head of the House Budget Committee (Banggar), told reporters on Wednesday that the efficiency policy would apply to all state institutions “without exception”.
Among the institutions whose funds lawmakers have now agreed to slash are those in the fields of law enforcement, the judiciary and defense, such as the National Police (Polri), which will see its funding cut 16 percent from Rp 126 trillion (US$7.7 billion) to Rp 105.5 trillion this year.
The Defense Ministry’s budget, which includes the Indonesian Military, will see Rp 26.9 trillion chopped off its original budget of Rp 166 trillion.
The new arrangement means that other institutions can breathe a little easier compared to the original belt-tightening figures stipulated in last month’s presidential instruction.
For instance, the Public Works Ministry now needs to cut its budget by around Rp 60 trillion instead of more than Rp 81 trillion, while the Public Housing and Settlements Ministry has seen its funding restored by Rp 1.6 trillion, half the initial figure.
