House Commission XIII Rejects Human Rights Minister's Budget Proposal, Demands Detail

Commission XIII of the House of Representatives held a working meeting regarding the budget with Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai. The budget proposed by Pigai was rejected by Commission XIII. Commission XIII Chairman Willy Aditya did not accept the budget proposed by Minister Pigai and requested he revise the submission. “So, ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect, at our next meeting, we will have no conclusion today, we will accept the Ministry of Human Rights after it has improved its budget. That is all,” said Willy during a meeting at Commission XIII, Senayan, South Jakarta. Willy reasoned that the budget proposal presented by Pigai gave the impression of outgoings exceeding income. Additionally, he stated the programmes intended to be carried out by the Ministry of Human Rights were unclear. “So we cannot yet give approval and we will postpone this meeting, because it’s a case of spending more than you earn, and there must be a clear order. What exactly is it, this is not a technical ministry, so they do not provide direct services, but they must be clear about what kind of services they intend to give,” he said. Willy stated that Pigai had drafted the budget in a lump sum manner. He stressed the budget must be drawn up in a detailed and measurable fashion. “We ask that this must be detailed, Minister. If it is not detailed, it cannot be approved. If it is lump sum like this, the variables are unmeasurable. It is true that human rights are intangible, but the instruments are tangible, the programmes must be tangible. If not, it is impossible. This is like looking for a black cat in a dark room, it cannot be like that. If it is to be a science, it must be measurable,” Willy emphasised. “So, with all due respect, Mr Minister, we will postpone this meeting, and we will meet again for refocussing and restructuring the budget revision,” he continued. Minister Pigai responded to the rejection, stating he accepted all the input from the Commission XIII members. “Yes, for me, all the input was of high quality, objective and impartial. I have been listening to this for almost 1.5 years, we formed this new ministry 1 year and 7 months ago. Until now, I feel we have not provided maximum service,” Pigai said. However, he noted that despite less than optimal service, his ministry was constantly a source of news. Therefore, he argued, the ministry still had added value. “But the Ministry of Human Rights is the only ministry consistently appearing in the national news. This must also be acknowledged. I never appear on podcasts or give interviews, but all the news comes from real results in the field. Professional journalists do not publish arbitrarily. It is one of the ministries featured in national news,” he said.