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Journalists say no to special housing subsidy
Three leading press organizations have opposed the government’s housing subsidy targeting journalists as a potential conflict of interest and instead called for greater protection of press freedeom in the country.
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Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid (left), Public Housing and Settlements Minister Maruarar Sirait (center) and Statistics Indonesia (BPS) head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti attend a joint signing ceremony at the housing ministry in Central Jakarta on April 8, 2025, to sign a memorandum of understanding on the media workers housing subsidy scheme. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
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ress organizations have expressed their opposition to the government’s housing subsidy scheme for media workers on ethical grounds as a potential risk to journalists’ professional integrity, while urging the government to focus on fair compensation and protecting press freedom instead.
The Public Housing and Settlements Ministry, the Communications and Digital Ministry and Statistics Indonesia (BPS) have joined forces to provide 1,000 subsidized homes to journalists nationwide this year, with the first 100 houses set to be handed over on May 6 to media workers in Greater Jakarta.
Earlier this month, housing minister Maruarar Sirait said the government was collaborating with a number of state-owned enterprises, including Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and the Public Housing Savings Management Board (BP Tapera), “to ensure that journalists who have fought to speak the truth have access to affordable housing".
Under this scheme, the communications ministry is to coordinate with the Press Council and the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) to verify recipient data, which will then be submitted to BTN and BP Tapera as the program’s designated financing distributors.
To be eligible, journalists must have a monthly income of no more than Rp 12 million (US$711) if they are single, or Rp 13 million if they are married.
Communications minister Meutya Hafid has made assurances that journalists who received the housing subsidy could still criticize the government as long as they reported "correct news", as quoted by Kompas.com on April 8.
Read also: Homes, not houses: Concerns linger over Prabowo’s urban housing push
