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Ministry suspends local social aid until after elections
The policy follows allegations that regional leaders and officials have been deploying state resources in support of certain candidates in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections.
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A social aid recipient receives a sack of rice through the government's food distribution program at the Dumai Post Office in Riau on Oct. 29, 2024. (Antara/Aswaddy Hamid )
The government has postponed distributions of social aid following allegations that regional leaders and officials have been deploying state resources in support of certain candidates in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections.
The Home Ministry issued a circular to regional administrations instructing them to halt the disbursement of social aid until after the November elections, said Deputy Home Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto.
“I have signed the circular. The postponement is for social aid allocated from the regional budget,” Bima said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
He added that the policy would not affect the distribution of social aid under programs initiated by ministries but that such disbursements should be reported to the Home Ministry.
Bima’s statement came a day after a meeting between Home Minister Tito Karnavian and House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs.
During the meeting, the minister told lawmakers of his plan to order local governments to postpone aid distribution. He noted that areas affected by disasters would be exempt, such as East Flores regency in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which has been suffering from a series of eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki.
Read also: Jokowi still pulls strings ahead of regional elections
