Budget Cuts Potentially Leave Ministry and Agency Employees Unemployed

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The government is urged to be more careful in cutting the budgets of ministries and agencies to avoid seriously affecting the performance of the bureaucracy and public services. Careless budget cuts have the potential to leave employees idle and make programs run ineffectively.

Regional autonomy expert Djohermansyah Djohan stated that significant budget cuts could cause several programs and activities of ministries and agencies to come to a halt in the second half of this year. "These cuts have the potential to leave employees idle because the budget has already been fully absorbed in the first semester. Without funding for the remainder of the year, there is a possibility that employees will be idle," said Djohermansyah in Jakarta, Monday (3/2/2025).

Djohermansyah provided an example where several regions experienced budget cuts to finance the needs of local elections. After the budget cuts, employees had no work due to the lack of funds for activities. "In the end, employees still came to the office, but there was no work. The remaining time in the office was spent being idle," he said.

A 50-60 percent budget cut could cause the bureaucracy to not function optimally, which ultimately impacts the community, including the hotel sector and other services.

In addition, official travel, which is also subject to budget cuts, has the potential to disrupt the coordination, guidance, and supervision functions of the central government over 38 provinces, 415 regencies, and 93 cities in Indonesia.

According to Djohermansyah, if official trips are hindered, the regions will implement programs without adequate technical guidance. This can result in programs running on autopilot without supervision.

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 amounting to Rp 256.1 trillion and transfers to regions amounting to 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. The budget efficiency will later be used to finance the priority programs of Prabowo's administration, one of which is Free Nutritious Meals.

Djohermansyah said he understood that budget savings were indeed necessary. However, he emphasized that savings must be made proportionally and not suddenly so that related agencies can make adjustments.

He also warned that sudden budget cuts could have a negative impact on public services and the economy, which relies on government spending.

"If the cuts are made drastically, there is indeed efficiency, but it can disrupt the mission of the institution that was established. Why create a new ministry or institution if there is no budget? Cutting 50-60 percent of the budget can make the bureaucracy not work optimally, which ultimately has an impact on society, including the hotel sector and other services," said Djohermansyah.

Therefore, Djohermansyah suggested that the cuts be made gradually and carefully. Savings on office stationery, meeting consumption, and seminars are considered appropriate.

Meanwhile, savings on official travel can be done in a less drastic way considering that this activity is still needed. The government can also save on the construction of buildings or offices of ministries and institutions, as well as save on employee recruitment.

"Don't let government coordination and supervision in the field stop altogether. Savings may be made, but don't eliminate important functions," said Djohermansyah.

Responding to Presidential Instruction 1/2025, government agencies have taken a number of steps to streamline their budgets. The State Civil Service Agency or BKN, for example, has limited or even eliminated the allocation of fuel for its officials.

In addition, the budget allocation for banquets, office stationery, computer materials and office household equipment, as well as the budget for facilities and infrastructure in the form of procurement of furniture, equipment and machines, as well as room renovations to the operation of pick-up cars for employees were decided to be eliminated.

At the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, savings were made by changing the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Indonesian Immigration on Friday (1/31/2025) to be simpler. The simple celebration was not only at the central level, but also at regional offices and immigration offices and detention centers throughout Indonesia.

Head of the Bureau of Data, Communication and Public Information of the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Mohammad Averrouce stated that the government is adjusting the budget to be sharper and more efficient, in accordance with Presidential Instruction 1/2025. "The efficiency aims to ensure that the state revenue and expenditure budget (APBN) can really have a direct impact and be felt by the community," said Averrouce.

Averrouce said that the President asked ministries and institutions to carry out activities more efficiently. Furthermore, the Minister of Finance asked ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, to make the budget of several spending items more efficient.

"We are also in the process of budget efficiency as a follow-up to the President's direction. Budget items that have been adjusted include official travel, procurement of stationery, various socialization activities and policy coordination, such as coordination meetings, seminars, and studies," said Averrouce.

According to him, the services at Kemenpan RB are not directly to the community, unlike basic and primary community services such as health centers, hospitals, and fire departments. Therefore, he hopes to continue to carry out services and functions as well as possible.

Regarding the amount of the savings budget, Averrouce did not provide clear details. "It is still in the calculation process, as is the case in all ministries or institutions," he said.