Deputy Minister P2MI: 2027 State Budget Must Strengthen Migrant Worker Protection

Deputy Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI) Christina Aryani has stated that the policy direction of the 2027 State Budget (APBN) must ensure the state’s presence is felt by Indonesian migrant workers from before they depart for work until they return home. Christina said this aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s message during the Government’s Statement on the 2027 Fiscal Year State Budget Bill and its Financial Note, that the APBN is not merely a state financial document, but an instrument to protect the people and improve public welfare. “In his speech, the President emphasised that the APBN is not just a state financial document, but a tool of struggle to protect the people, strengthen the nation, and realise a better life. The President also stressed the importance of ensuring the state is truly present in the life of every citizen,” Christina said in a ministry press release on Friday. According to her, the success of the APBN is ultimately not solely measured by the size of the allocated budget, but by the tangible benefits felt by the community. “Therefore, every rupiah collected by the state must return to the people in the form of real benefits. The public must feel that the state is present through improved public services, stronger protection, and opportunities to enhance welfare,” she stated. Christina believes this principle needs to be applied in migrant worker protection policies because migrant workers and their families are part of the community entitled to feel the benefits of development. “For migrant workers, the state’s presence must be felt from before they work abroad, during their employment, until they return to the homeland. Protection is not only when problems occur, but is a series of services and policies that ensure they can work safely, productively, and with dignity,” she explained. She also assessed that state expenditure needs to be designed not only to meet the community’s needs, but also to simultaneously boost productivity, create economic opportunities, and strengthen competitiveness. Furthermore, alignment with the community must be accompanied by targeted budget management and the responsibility of maintaining the state’s fiscal health. In the policy direction of the 2027 Draft State Budget, the government is targeting an APBN deficit in the range of 1.80 per cent to a maximum of 2.40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), while also committing to continue reducing the deficit. “Maintaining the deficit and fiscal health is part of the effort to ensure the government has sufficient room to continue financing priority programmes, sustainable public services, and providing protection to the community in the future,” Christina added.