House of Representatives: Discourse on Cutting Officials' Salaries a Way for President to Instil Sensitivity

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chairman of Commission II of the House of Representatives Rifqinizamy Karsayuda believes that the discourse on salary cuts for officials, such as Members of the House of Representatives, ministers, and deputy ministers, is a way for President Prabowo Subianto to instil a sense of crisis or sensitivity to potential crises.

In other words, he stated that the discourse serves as a signal for all parties to prepare for potential crises arising from global dynamics due to the war in the Middle East.

“We realise that economic dynamics, especially following the war in the Middle East, are not easy, and therefore efficiency is a necessity for us all,” Rifqinizamy said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

However, he added that currently, not only salary cuts are needed, but also the effective and efficient management of various existing government budgets.

In addition, he stated that the government needs to ensure that those budgets have clear outputs and outcomes for development activities. Therefore, he views the discourse on salary cuts as very positive.

To that end, he believes that the policy discourse does not require revisions to the law, as it is a matter of government technicalities.

“It is sufficient at the level of regulations below the law, whether that is a Presidential Regulation or even just a regulation from the Minister of Finance,” he said.

Most importantly, according to him, all budgets need to be managed well, transparently, and accountably. He reminded that efficiency must target the right positions.

“Do not let efficiency actually slow down the enthusiasm and public service to the community,” he said.