Jokowi said in a plenary meeting on the implementation of the 2023 State Budget at the Presidential Palace on Monday that that the three government institutions must carefully select their vendors so that the government did not overspend on maintenance and upkeep.

"Please be careful. Don't buy too much. If we can get maximum benefit, then that's fine, but if not and we have to spend too much on maintenance, up to Rp 21.5 trillion, then we need to take a closer look. Our state budget must remain healthy," Jokowi said.

Jokowi also said that defense and law-enforcement agencies should refrain from engaging in wasteful spending as other government agencies needed funding for basic infrastructure.

"The Defense Ministry, the police, the Attorney General's Office and the State Intelligence Agency spent Rp 29.7 trillion on procurement of these goods. On the other hand, spending for irrigation, dams only stands at Rp 23.5 trillion," Jokowi said.

Indonesia has long been seeking to replace its aging air fleet, mainly consisting of United States-made F-5 Tiger jets, British-made Hawk 109/209 and Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 jets from Russia.

And since Prabowo Subianto assumed the defense minister position in 2019, the government has been on a major defense spending spree.

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