Protested, DPD Asks Minister of Finance to Review Budget Efficiency of Ministries/Institutions

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Regional Representative Council or DPD has requested the Minister of Finance to reassess budget efficiency as there are still ministries/agencies that are exempt from budget cuts. The budget cuts are considered to impact the performance of institutions, including the DPD.

A thorough study is needed before deciding on the ministries/agencies that will be subject to budget efficiency. This is to prevent other impacts such as a decline in the performance of the agencies or even the emergence of effects on future economic sluggishness.

A member of the Regional Representative Council from North Sumatra, Penrad Siagian, on Monday (3/2/2024) stated that he had received information that the DPD would be one of the institutions affected by budget efficiency measures. The 2025 budget ceiling of IDR 1.3 trillion is said to be cut by more than IDR 500 billion.

Penrad also questioned the basis used by the Minister of Finance, which led to the DPD becoming one of the institutions affected by budget cuts.

The Regional Representative Council (DPD) is one of the state institutions that has experienced budget cuts amounting to more than IDR 500 billion. Has the Minister of Finance conducted a thorough evaluation and proper analysis to justify such a significant budget cut for the DPD?

"The DPD, for example, is one of the state institutions that experienced budget cuts of more than Rp 500 billion. Has the Minister of Finance conducted a thorough evaluation and proper analysis to justify such a significant budget cut for the DPD? Meanwhile, for instance, the DPR is an institution that has not undergone efficiency measures and budget cuts," said Penrad.

According to Penrad, the idea of cutting the budgets of ministries/agencies is not surprising and is not a new narrative. He supports President Prabowo Subianto's instruction through Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2025 on saving expenditures of ministries and agencies.

In Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 1 of 2025 signed on January 22, 2025, President Prabowo instructed ministries, agencies, and local governments to streamline the state budget by up to Rp 306.69 trillion. The budget efficiency of Rp 306.69 trillion comes from the ministry/agency expenditure budget of Rp 256.1 trillion and transfers to regions of Rp 50.59 trillion.

There are seven points of instruction from President Prabowo, namely operational expenses, office expenses, maintenance costs, official travel, government assistance, infrastructure development, and procurement of equipment and machinery. Efficiency is excluded for employee expenses and social assistance expenses.

However, in Presidential Instruction No. 1/2025, Penrad continued, it was actually translated by Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani with SE Minister of Finance No. 37/MK.02/2025 to be less precise. Moreover, recently there have been Ministries/Institutions whose budgets have been cut and there have also been Ministries/Institutions that have not been affected by budget cuts and efficiency.

With the existence of K/L that are cut and not has indicated that budget efficiency is only done limitedly. In fact, there is public hope related to the spirit of budget efficiency which should be more comprehensive, not just cutting a number of K/L.

"I don't really know what the Minister of Finance's basis is for this limited instruction, whether he has seen the impact and performance of the related Ministries/Institutions," said Penrad.

Penrad said that the work of a DPD member covers one province. The functional issues of a DPD member also cover all issues in one province because the main duties and functions of a DPD member are not limited to dividing commission issues as a DPR member.

"The cuts will certainly have a greater or lesser impact on the advocacy and oversight functions that the DPD can carry out in the future," said the member of DPD Committee I.

Penrad asked the Minister of Finance to conduct a more in-depth study so that the spirit echoed by President Prabowo is not misinterpreted and ultimately causes economic sluggishness in the future.

Deputy Chairman of DPD Tamsil Linrung said that the DPD Secretariat General is still reviewing budget efficiency in the DPD environment due to President Prabowo's instructions. He does not yet know which budget items or work units in the DPD are affected by the budget efficiency.

"So, now the secretariat general is studying it. We have not looked at it as a whole, because the secretary general when we asked whether it had been explored which units could indeed experience efficiency, has not been given to us," said Tamsil.

He also could not convey the impact of budget cuts on DPD performance. Because, the 2025 budget ceiling that has been set at Rp 1.3 trillion has taken into account the addition of 16 DPD members from four new provinces, namely South Papua, Central Papua, Papua Pegunungan, and Southwest Papua.

The budget includes costs for their salaries and allowances, honorariums for accompanying staff members, additional facilitation of activities such as recess and visits to electoral districts, and socialization of DPD decisions.

"Because the DPD for this period is also currently having additional members from the new province in Papua. This additional member also has implications for the addition of employees or staff," said Tamsil.

The DPD is the only legislative institution affected by budget efficiency. The DPD's budget ceiling in 2025 reaches IDR 1.3 trillion and it is said that there will be a budget efficiency of around IDR 511 billion. Based on documents received by Kompas, the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) are not targeted for budget efficiency so that their budget ceilings in 2025 are intact, namely the DPR at IDR 6.6 trillion and the MPR at IDR 969 billion.

MPR Chairman Ahmad Muzani when met at the Presidential Palace, Monday (3/2/2025), emphasized that, just like other ministries and state institutions, the MPR budget has also been cut in accordance with Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2025 concerning the Efficiency of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) and the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD).

He admitted that he had received a report from the Secretary General and the MPR Budget Agency regarding this matter today before meeting President Prabowo Subianto.

Not only that, the MPR budget cuts were also one of the things discussed when he met with the President. "Yes, (discussed) briefly," said Muzani.

Muzani said that there were several budget items that were cut to support the government's efficiency program. The items in question, among others, are related to official travel, including the socialization of the four pillars which have been routine programs of the MPR.

"Yes, that (socialization of the four pillars) is also affected (by the cuts), that is included in those affected. But how much, is being calculated," said Muzani.

The Secretary General of the Gerindra Party saw that budget efficiency was indeed needed for several unproductive things. This is because there are several work programs that require budget concentration so that they must take funds from other programs whose productivity can be reviewed.