National Library Halts Book Distribution Programme Due to Budget Cuts

The National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas) has complained about the impact of budget cut policies, which have created obstacles in the field of community literacy. The complaint was conveyed during a meeting with the House of Representatives’ Commission X.

Head of Perpusnas Aminudin Aziz said the budget cuts experienced by his institution meant that the delivery of book assistance to communities and correctional facilities could no longer be carried out.

“This year we cannot carry it out because there is no money,” Aziz said during a working meeting with Commission X of the House of Representatives on Thursday, 16 July 2026.

He explained that in 2024-2025, Perpusnas took the initiative to run a book assistance programme targeting rural areas, reading gardens, correctional facilities and community health centres, with a target of 1,000 books per location.

The programme, he continued, had in fact received a positive response from the public. However, due to budget constraints, the programme cannot be implemented in 2026.

“It is true that the very drastic budget reduction has disrupted work related to literacy,” Aziz said.

In 2025, Perpusnas’ budget allocation reached Rp 583.2 billion. However, in 2026 the budget was cut to Rp 377.9 billion.

The budget cut policy has been implemented by the administration of Prabowo Subianto since 2025. In 2026, the policy was set out in Finance Minister Regulation Number 56 of 2025 on Procedures for Implementing Spending Efficiency in the State Budget.