ICW Warns of Risks in Government Activities Funded by Private Funds
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has assessed that using personal funds to finance state affairs, including the official overseas travels of President Prabowo Subianto, potentially violates the principles of transparent and accountable state financial management. This statement was made in response to clarifications from Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya regarding the financing of President Prabowo Subianto’s international trips.
ICW’s Head of Advocacy Division, Egi Primayoguna, emphasised that the management of state finances is strictly regulated under Law Number 17 of 2003 concerning State Finance. According to him, all financing for state activities should adhere to the administrative mechanisms and the state budget.
“Article 3 of Law No. 17 of 2003 on State Finance asserts that the management of state finances must be conducted in an orderly manner, in compliance with laws and regulations, efficiently, economically, effectively, transparently, and responsibly,” Egi stated in his briefing on Tuesday (3/6).
He assessed that using personal funds for state activities could conflict with these principles, particularly regarding transparency and accountability. ICW also warned that financing state activities outside the official budget mechanism could hinder public oversight, as such expenditures would not be recorded in the state financial system.
“Financing state affairs with personal money has the potential to limit public supervision. This is because such expenditures will not be recorded in the state financial system. Consequently, the public and supervisory institutions will find it difficult to demand accountability for the use of such funds,” said Egi.
Therefore, ICW requested that President Prabowo be transparent regarding the source of the personal funds used, should they indeed be used to support state activities. “For the sake of transparency, if President Prabowo is indeed using personal funds for state affairs, he needs to explain the source of those funds openly. This is vital to ensure there is no potential conflict of interest,” he added.
Furthermore, Egi highlighted the provisions in Article 13, paragraph (1) of PMK Number 227/PMK.05/2016 regarding the Procedures for Overseas Official Travel. This regulation stipulates that the costs of official overseas travel must be charged to the Budget Implementation List (DIPA) of the relevant ministry, agency, or working unit.
“This provision demonstrates that the financing of official travel should comply with the state budget mechanism,” he said.
ICW also reminded that good governance requires a clear separation between public and private interests. “Good governance requires a strict separation between the public and the private. Using personal money for state affairs risks normalising the blurring of these two boundaries. As a result, conflicts of interest, which serve as gateways to corruption, could become widespread,” Egi remarked.
Previously, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya asserted that any additional costs outside the state budget for President Prabowo’s overseas trips were covered by the President’s personal funds. Teddy stated that this measure was taken as a form of efficiency and in response to public scrutiny regarding the budget used for state visits.
“In the past, a single trip abroad could involve more than 120 people. During Mr Dino’s time, it was like that. Now, under President Prabowo, the number is a maximum of between 50 to 60 people,” Teddy noted in an official post from the Cabinet Secretariat on Monday (1/6).