Airlangga Says Proposal for Ministers' Salary Cuts Has Been Discussed

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that the proposal for cutting ministers’ salaries due to the Middle East conflict has indeed been discussed previously. “We’ll see, there was a discussion at the time, but we’ll just monitor it,” said Airlangga at the Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday (7 April 2026). Nevertheless, Airlangga declined to elaborate further on the option of salary cuts for ministers to achieve efficiency. Quoted from Kompas TV, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the government is still examining the proposal for salary reductions for state officials amid efforts to maintain budget efficiency. Purbaya noted that the discussion on salary cuts for officials, including ministers, is still in the deliberation stage and no final decision has been reached. “As for the DPR, I don’t know, but for ministers, I’m fine with it; we’ll see what the President’s policy is,” said Purbaya at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy office in Jakarta on Monday (7 April 2026). Purbaya admitted he would not object if his salary were cut. “No problem, there’s plenty of money anyway,” he remarked. Although no final decision has been made, Purbaya estimated that the salary cut could amount to around 25 per cent. When asked if the salary cut was certain, Purbaya said there had already been discussions on the matter, but the final decision was not yet definite.