House urges tight budget for 1999\/2000<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) urged the
\ngovernment on Wednesday to draft a tight, realistic state budget
\nfor the 1999\/2000 fiscal year, saying that Indonesia's economy
\nwould still be vulnerable next year.<\/p>\n
The four factions in House Commission VIII for finance and the
\nstate budget also called on the government to prioritize
\nexpenditure on social safety net programs providing food and jobs
\nto millions of Indonesians affected by the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
"A deficit of routine and development expenditure against
\ndomestic revenue is only acceptable if the funds are used to
\nfinance urgent projects to help the poor," United Development
\nParty (PPP) faction spokesman Irgan Chairul Mahfiz said during
\nthe hearing with Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's hearing was the last in a four-day series of
\nhearings with the minister.<\/p>\n
All four factions -- the PPP, Golkar, the Armed Forces and the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI) -- called for a realistic
\nbudget to avoid the need to undertake revisions in the event of
\nchanges in the country's condition.<\/p>\n
The government has revised the current state budget three
\ntimes.<\/p>\n
"We hope that in the future there won't be too many revisions
\nso that we don't confuse the public and so that the budget
\nremains credible," Irgan said.<\/p>\n
The majority Golkar faction said it expected a deficit budget
\nin the next fiscal year rather than a "balanced and dynamic
\nbudget", as the government likes to call it.<\/p>\n
Golkar estimated that tax revenues would reach Rp 110 trillion
\n(US$14.66 billion), while routine expenditure would be Rp 135
\ntrillion.<\/p>\n
Development expenditure would be Rp 72 trillion, most of which
\nwould come from foreign loans, it said.<\/p>\n
The forecasts assumed an exchange rate between Rp 7,000 and Rp
\n8,000 against the U.S. dollar, inflation between 20 percent and
\n30 percent, and oil prices of between US$11 and $12 per barrel.<\/p>\n
The faction also forecast that economic growth would improve
\nto between minus 5 percent and minus 1 percent, up from this
\nyear's figure of minus 13 percent.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the government announced that it would
\ndraft next year's state budget assuming economic growth of
\nbetween minus 1 percent and 1 percent and inflation of between 15
\npercent and 20 percent.<\/p>\n
The government also said that it anticipated oil prices of
\nbetween $11.5 and $12.5 per barrel, with production running at
\n1.52 million barrels per day.<\/p>\n
The PPP said that these assumptions were too optimistic
\nconsidering the country's current difficulties and the risk of
\nfurther trouble around the time of next year's general and
\npresidential elections.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Armed Forces faction tabled a proposal for
\nextra government funding for security during the elections.<\/p>\n
However, the proposal was rejected by the minority PDI
\nfaction, which urged the government to accommodate the
\naspirations of the general public and the students who have been
\nstaging almost daily protests instead of spending more money on
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n
"That would be much healthier way forward than deploying a
\nmassive security force on the streets," the faction's spokesman
\nNico Daryanto said.<\/p>\n
Late last week, the government announced plans to recruit and
\ntrain 40,000 civilians to bolster security in the run up to the
\ngeneral election. It said the civilian militia would be funded
\nout of the state budget. (das)<\/p>",
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