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Muhaimin promises to increase state budget allocation for R&D
Indonesia's state budget allocation for research has continued to decline, reaching Rp 2.2 trillion (US$142 million), or only 0.01 percent of GDP.
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Vice presidential candidate Muhaimin Iskandar speaks during the second 2024 election debate at the Jakarta Convention Center on Dec. 22, 2023. The debate covered issues related to the economy, finance, tax, investment, trade and infrastructure. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
Vice presidential candidate Muhaimin Iskandar has pledged to increase research and development funding to 3 percent of the state budget (APBN).
"At least 3 percent [of the state budget],” he said during an event in Semarang, Central Java, on Saturday, as quoted by detiknews.
"The minimum research funding in our country should be 3 percent; why? Because if not, we will only become a consumer country; that is, we will stay a recipient country of agricultural products, a consumer of other countries’ research results,” he said.
According to Kumparan, Indonesia’s current research budget allocation amounts to less than 1 percent of the state budget and is frequently subject to cuts by the government. In 2017, the government allocated only 0.2 percent of GDP, which amounted to around Rp 24.9 trillion (US$1.6 billion). This funding continued to dwindle until the most recent allocation in 2023, which was at Rp 2.2 trillion, or only 0.01 percent of GDP.
Muhaimin believes that the intended increase will enhance the productivity of innovation in Indonesia. He also hopes that it will provide certainty that the results of the research can improve the welfare of the country.
When asked about his commitment to Indonesia’s research ecosystem, Muhaimin also said he planned to evaluate the governance of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). "We must evaluate all of BRIN's governance and work systems," said Muhaimin.
Muhaimin said he would make changes to BRIN from upstream to downstream, starting from funding and planning to how the research products are marketed. He also pointed out that the product’s user base must be massive, since a small user base meant that research was a loss for the country.
“A massive user base can only be generated by the government. The government must force it; yes, it is forcible. Every product has to be the result of research. Especially agri-maritime [products].”
