Ministry of Religious Affairs cuts official travel by 65%, prioritises public services

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) has cut official travel by up to 65 per cent, with the savings redirected to maintain priority programmes, especially those related to public services. “Our forward planning—I ask you to think out of the box. Our reference going forward is the challenges, not just the budget we have. If the budget is limited, find alternatives,” said Minister of Religious Affairs (Menag) Nasaruddin Umar in Jakarta on Wednesday. This saving measure is an innovation in responding to the challenges of limited programme budgets in 2026. One approach is extreme sharpening of non-priority spending accounts. Menag Nasaruddin called on all levels of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to undertake fundamental transformation in programme planning mindsets. Amid quite heavy fiscal challenges in 2026, Kemenag’s ranks are asked to sharpen several priority programmes. The sharpening is done to ensure religious and educational services still reach the grassroots even though budget room is very limited. According to the Menag, programme sharpening can be done by uniting efforts between Directorates General, Provincial Kemenag Offices, and State Religious Higher Education Institutions (PTKN). “Let us work as a Super Team, not Superman. I ask Rectors and Provincial Heads to collaborate. Don’t just meet at ceremonies. Use KKN/PKN students to help Bimas programmes, for example, eradicating Quranic illiteracy in villages or preventing unregistered marriages,” said the Menag. Meanwhile, the Head of the Planning Bureau of the Kemenag Secretariat General, Kastolan, detailed the significant cuts to overseas official travel positions by 70 per cent and regular official travel by 65 per cent. “The budget from these savings is redirected to ensure basic service functions are not disrupted,” said Kastolan.