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House probes Prabowo's spending plan. Critics blast it as 'untimely', 'nonsensical' amid COVID-19
A House commission has grilled Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto over his US$125 billion defense spending proposal to upgrade military equipment, when the state is pulling out all the stops to contain the pandemic and recover the economy.
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Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto makes a salute on Nov. 11, 2019, before his first working meeting with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs, information and intelligence, at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he government’s US$125 billion defense spending proposal to replace the nation’s aging weaponry has become the target of growing scrutiny, with the pandemic-afflicted economy overshadowing the proposed plan’s feasibility and funding options.
House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, grilled Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto over the multibillion-dollar proposal in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Speculation was sparked by a leaked draft presidential regulation that contained an outline of the proposed plan, a copy of which The Jakarta Post obtained.
The draft regulation stipulates that the ministry is to spend the total sum for defense acquisitions and the maintenance of new equipment, under a new 25-year strategic plan for 2020-2044.
The proposed spending budget is to be financed exclusively through foreign loans that must be fully disbursed by 2024, according to the draft regulation.
Commission I lawmaker Effendi Simbolon said the procurement plan was “interesting” at first glance, but called on the government to clarify several details, particularly in relation to the continuity of the proposal.
“What’s interesting for the public, and lawmakers as well, is the potential condition [under which] the budget will be paid in full to the vendors by 2024, while [the strategic plan] does not lapse until 2044,” Effendi told the Post on Thursday. “How can [the government] guarantee that the next administrations will continue the plan?”
