Parliamentary Budget Commission Recommends Measures to Safeguard National Budget Stability

Jakarta — The Head of the Parliamentary Budget Commission (Banggar) of the House of Representatives, Said Abdullah, has proposed several strategic measures to the government to maintain the stability of the State Budget (APBN) amid rising global economic uncertainty.

Said stated that strengthening the fiscal foundation must be undertaken collectively to ensure the national economy remains secure. Various global dynamics, ranging from financial market volatility to geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, pose potential spillover risks to Indonesia’s economy. However, he assessed that the country’s fiscal position remains within a relatively safe corridor.

“We should not panic and should not be a nation that gets caught off guard. Looking at the macro assumptions and the structure of this year’s budget, it is actually still relatively well maintained,” Said said when met with parliamentary journalists at the Nusantara II Building, Parliamentary Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday, 12 March 2026.

In maintaining fiscal stability, the Parliamentary Budget Commission presented four policy proposals for government consideration.

First, the government was urged to sharpen priority programmes that are genuinely urgent. Programmes that are truly needed by society should continue to prevent disruption to public services or the national development agenda.

“We hope the government will sharpen programmes that are truly priority and urgent. Such programmes must certainly be continued,” he said.

Second, programmes that are a priority but not particularly urgent could be considered for temporary deferment. This step is seen as capable of providing additional fiscal space for the government to address various global economic uncertainties.

Third, Said encouraged the government to sharpen subsidy policy to ensure better targeting. He noted that there remains a considerable error rate in subsidy disbursement, both from the perspective of unqualified recipients and members of the public who should receive subsidies but remain unreached.

“Our subsidies still have a considerable error rate, so sharpening is necessary to ensure they truly reach the right targets,” he explained.

Fourth, the Parliamentary Budget Commission also urged the government to strengthen productive social assistance for micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) operators. According to Said, business capital support for MSME actors, particularly in the micro sector, can help drive the real economy sector amid global economic pressures.

He explained that of approximately 43.9 million MSME operators in Indonesia, the majority are micro enterprises requiring small-scale financing support to continue developing.

Accordingly, he emphasised that these four measures form part of efforts to maintain the health of the national fiscal position whilst ensuring the budget continues to function as an instrument of economic stabilisation amid evolving global dynamics.

“If micro enterprises receive capital support, even if relatively modest, the impact can be directly felt in the movement of the real economy,” he concluded.