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Prabowo denies civil servant salary cuts amid budget reductions
President Prabowo Subianto refuted claims that budget cuts for ministries and agencies would impact civil servant salaries. Previous reports suggested that some ministries and agencies have already laid off contract workers because of budget constraints.
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Finance Ministry higher ups sit before House Commission XI, which oversees financial affairs, on Feb. 13, 2024, to talk about budget streamlining. (JP/Deni Ghifari)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto denied that the budget cuts for ministries and agencies would affect the salaries of civil servants, calling the previous reports untrue.
"The narrative about salary cuts is not true," Prabowo said during a gathering of the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) at his residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Friday, as quoted by the presidential media team.
Prabowo said that the budget cuts would not disrupt daily operations but were aimed at reducing non-essential activities, such as overseas business trips.
"So, after that, work visits, seminars, FGDs [forum group discussions]. What's there to discuss? The people need support, they need fertilizers, seeds and better schools. No need for more seminars," he said, as quoted by Tempo.
Prabowo ordered the budget reduction policy through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 1/2025 on spending efficiency and the implementation of the 2025 state and regional budgets. This directive aims to save Rp 306.7 trillion (US$18.85 billion).
However, Prabowo emphasized that the cuts would not affect ongoing essential programs, including those in the education sector.
Previous reports indicated that the budget cuts led several ministries and agencies to lay off contract workers, including those working at state-run radio station RRI and TV station TVRI.
