House Commission XI: State Budget Can Fund PFII Operations, Not Investment

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission XI, Mohamad Hekal, stated that state budget funds (APBN) can be used to support the operations of the Indonesian International Financial Centre (PFII), particularly to maintain the function of its courts, but not as a source of investment financing. “(The APBN) is not for making investments; it is actually to keep its (PFII) operations from stopping,” Hekal told reporters at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday. Hekal explained that the initial capital for the PFII’s development is currently planned to come from the Indonesia Investment Authority (Danantara). On the other hand, he added, room for using the APBN has also been prepared to support operational needs at the PFII, including court operations and judges’ salaries, to maintain the independence and sustainability of the institution’s functions. According to Hekal, the need for operational financing is also intended as an anticipatory measure should conditions arise during the PFII’s development that hinder the project, ensuring that the institution’s operations, especially the courts, can continue. “If something happens along the way, and we have to find a new investor or a new mechanism, we must maintain the PFII’s operations, especially the courts. So, for its personnel, we have already prepared that door through the APBN,” he explained. He added that the study regarding the funding scheme is left to the Minister of Finance. According to him, this is necessary because some PFII facilities fall under the authority of the Ministry of Finance, including anticipating the use of the APBN to maintain the continuity of PFII operations. “We must not let judges go unpaid. After all, it is within the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. So, we must not let this be suddenly neglected and then become a burden on the APBN again,” Hekal said. The DPR Plenary Session on Tuesday approved the Bill on the PFII to be passed into law. Prior to the approval, Hekal, who also serves as the Chair of the PFII Bill Working Committee, delivered a report. The new law contains 10 chapters, including a chapter detailing the PFII arbitration body as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism within the PFII. Another chapter details the PFII Court, including its status as a special court, its authority to examine, adjudicate, and decide cases within the PFII, its composition, and its procedural law. Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, delivering the final opinion on behalf of the President at the 26th DPR Plenary Session in Jakarta on Tuesday, stated that the presence of the PFII is not intended to replace the existing domestic financial system but to complement it with a world-class, integrated ecosystem. “This PFII Bill was born from the awareness that as the largest country in Southeast Asia and a member of the G20, it is time for Indonesia to have its own financial centre that is credible, independent, has integrity, and is globally competitive,” Purbaya said.