Indonesian Backstagers Association Questions Allegations of Rp50 Trillion Corruption in Government Event Organisers
The professional event management association, Backstagers Indonesia, has questioned statements by Said Didu who claimed that government Event Organiser (EO) budgets amount to Rp50 trillion and dubbed the EO industry as the safest place for corruption.
Backstagers Indonesia Chairman Andro Rohmana Putra emphasised that Said’s remarks deeply hurt the dignity of millions of creative workers and SMEs reliant on the event industry supply chain.
“Labelling EO as a place of corruption when this industry is only just starting to recover after two years of being dormant due to the pandemic is an narrative lacking empathy. We’re doing well just to survive, let alone being accused of swallowing tens of trillions of state funds,” Andro said in a written statement on Thursday (2/4/2026).
Andro stated that the accusations are blind to real data. Referring to the 2024 Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) report, the sectors with the highest corruption cases are in villages (77 cases), utilities, health, and education. The event services sector is not listed in that report.
Backstagers also highlighted the irony in local government budget structures. In many cases, allocations for wages for technical workers and field crew in the Estimated Own Price (HPS) are often budgeted at only 0 to 1 percent.
“Many local governments organise events, but in their budgets, they refuse to include wage costs for technical workers and local crew. Is this real situation still considered a field of corruption?” Andro said.
Based on data from Oxford Economics, Indonesia’s event industry contributes directly to GDP by Rp128 trillion from the business events sector alone, with a multiplier effect of 2.36 times. This sector supports more than 3 million daily casual workers, from stage crew, catering vendors, to local artists.
Andro assessed that Said Didu’s statements threaten the livelihoods of millions of grassroots workers in this field. Especially now, the industry is facing government budget efficiency through Inpres No. 1 of 2025, which cuts state spending by up to 90 percent.
In response to those statements, Andro said Backstagers Indonesia demands that Said Didu publicise the data sources for the Rp30-50 trillion budget claim or issue a public apology to millions of event workers. Furthermore, it requests iNews TV to facilitate the right of reply in accordance with Press Law No. 40/1999 in the form of an open debate.
Additionally, Andro urged the government to promptly enact regulations on event industry governance and social security protection for creative freelance workers.
“In an industry where even the human resources are not budgeted by local governments, where does the logic of trillions in corruption come from?” Andro concluded.
Previously, Said Didu stated that one efficiency measure Indonesia could take amid crisis threats due to war is to eliminate all Event Organiser (EO) budgets across all government agencies.
“In my opinion, Mr President, eliminate all government event EOs. Almost all government activities, even halal bihalal, use EOs. All government activities use EOs,” Said said on a television programme on Tuesday (31/3/2026).
In fact, Said said, if totalled overall, the budget for EOs alone across all agencies could reach Rp50 trillion in one year. “That’s huge. In my opinion, if totalled across all regions, it’s over Rp30 trillion. Government events. In a year, yes, it could be Rp50 T,” Said stated.
Not only that, Said emphasised that EO is the safest location for corruption practices. However, he did not detail how that could happen.
“And the safest place for corruption is EO. Because of that, it must be eliminated. Agencies with large budgets are managed by EOs. Even SPBU inaugurations use EOs, more EOs come. Just stop using EOs,” he concluded.