NasDem Questions Effectiveness of Official Salary Cuts in Saving State Budget

President Prabowo Subianto is currently reviewing proposals to cut the salaries of ministers and members of parliament to address fiscal pressures stemming from Middle East conflicts. NasDem Party chief Irma Suryani Chaniago has questioned whether such salary reductions would effectively save the state budget.

“I agree with Hamdi Putra (Forum Sipil Bersuara) that politically, this idea sounds appealing. When citizens are asked to economise and the government tightens spending, the public naturally wants to see the state elite share in the same sacrifice. However, does cutting official salaries truly serve to rescue the state budget?” Irma said on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

She noted that mathematically, such efficiency measures would contribute only 0.02 percent of the total state budget. Irma pointed out that state expenditure on all ministerial salaries is estimated at IDR 57.6 billion annually.

“After calculating it turns out the savings amount to only 0.02 percent of the total state budget. The current government cabinet comprises approximately 48 ministers and 56 deputy ministers,” she said.

“If we assume that a minister’s total income, accounting for base salary, position allowance and various facilities, is approximately IDR 100 million per month, then total expenditure for all ministers reaches approximately IDR 57.6 billion per year,” she added.

This member of the DPR’s Ninth Commission stated that deputy ministers’ total income is estimated at IDR 47 billion annually, with estimated monthly income of IDR 70 million. Combined, total expenditure for both positions would be approximately IDR 104 billion per year.

“If the government cuts their salaries by 10 percent, the savings obtained would only be approximately IDR 10 billion per year. Even if the cut were to reach 50 percent—an already extremely drastic figure—the savings would amount to only approximately IDR 52 billion per year,” she said.

Irma assessed that the efficiency figure from official salary cuts remains small, even when combined with parliamentary salary reductions. According to her, the maximum savings the state could achieve would be around IDR 850 billion.

“That figure still seems small. However, if combined with cuts to parliamentary salaries, the impact would still not be particularly significant. With total parliamentary-related compensation and allowances estimated at approximately IDR 1.6 trillion per year, a 50 percent cut would save only approximately IDR 800 billion,” Irma said.

She stated that cutting salaries for ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary members would not have a significant impact on the state budget. Irma argued that salary reductions would not alter the state’s fiscal condition.

“If combined with cuts to ministerial and deputy ministerial salaries, total maximum savings would be approximately IDR 850 billion. At first glance, that figure sounds substantial. However, in the context of Indonesia’s state budget at approximately IDR 3.842 trillion, savings of IDR 850 billion amount to only roughly 0.02 percent of the total state budget,” Irma said.

“In other words, even halving the salaries of the political elite would barely change the state’s fiscal condition. The state budget will not become healthier, the deficit will not reduce meaningfully, and fiscal pressures from global volatility would remain unchanged because the outcome is too small,” she continued.

Irma said she had no objection to President Prabowo’s proposal. However, she cautioned that efficiency efforts would be better directed at large-scale projects to yield higher efficiency gains.

“I personally have no objection to the president’s proposal, but it would be far better if efficiency measures were taken from large-scale projects that are not urgent, where the efficiency gains would be substantial,” she added.

Prabowo’s Statement

Previously, Prabowo noted that several countries have taken adaptive measures in response to the conflict situation in West Asia or the Middle East. Prabowo cited Pakistan as an example, which has also cut the salaries of cabinet members and parliamentary members.

This was stated by Prabowo whilst presiding over a full cabinet session at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March. Prabowo emphasised that the government cannot ensure safety without taking proactive measures.

“We cannot assume that whatever happens we are safe. Yes, we are grateful we are safe, but we have no effort to reduce our fuel consumption. Many countries have already taken steps,” he said.

“Many countries have already taken steps. Perhaps the Cabinet Secretary has slides to inform how many steps there are. There is Pakistan’s step. This is merely for comparison,” Prabowo said, whilst displaying a graphic presentation about Pakistan’s government measures in a crisis situation.

Prabowo stated that Pakistan has implemented work-from-home arrangements for both government and private sector offices. Working days have also been reduced to four days.

“So they consider this critical, thus calling them critical measures. As if for them this is like what we experienced during COVID. They implemented work-from-home for all offices, government and private, 50% working from home. They then cut working days to only four days,” he said.

Prabowo continued that Pakistan has also cut ministerial and parliamentary salaries. The budget adjustments are used to assist vulnerable populations.

“They even reduced salaries for cabinet members, for parliamentary members, and all these salary savings were collected to help the most vulnerable or weak groups,” he said.

Prabowo continued that Pakistan has also cut fuel supplies for all ministries and mandated that 60 percent of government vehicles remain unused at all times. Additionally, according to Prabowo, Pakistan has halted all foreign expenditure, vehicle purchases, furniture procurement and spending on all government institutions for an unspecified period.

“They halted all their foreign visits. They reduced and prohibited using government funds for festivities. All higher education institutions shifted to online. All schools closed for two weeks, probably to mark Eid al-Fitr,” he said.