Prabowo Plans to Cut TNI and Polri Budgets to Reduce Poverty

President Prabowo Subianto intends to implement budget savings to improve efficiency and reallocate funds towards poverty alleviation. He stated that even the budgets for the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) could be reduced to achieve this goal. The remarks were made while leading a simultaneous nationwide harvest event with the TNI in Malang, East Java, on Friday. In his speech, Prabowo discussed predictions that Indonesia will become the world’s fourth-richest country, a forecast made by several experts. To reach that target, he pledged to care for the nation’s children as the future generation. “If we do not look after these children, how can we become the fourth-largest country in the world? We must eliminate hunger and extreme poverty. God willing, we will eliminate it,” he said. Prabowo added that the government would make the budget more efficient, even if it meant cutting defence spending. “We will save our budget and make it efficient. If necessary, we will reduce our defence budget and our police budget to eliminate poverty,” Prabowo stated. He then asked the attending TNI and Polri personnel if they were willing and sincere about the cuts. The head of state further argued that the best defence is a strong and prosperous populace. He urged the TNI and Polri to remain close to the community and expressed appreciation for their involvement in infrastructure improvement and food security programmes. “Today I am proud, happy, and truly moved. The TNI has built thousands of bridges, and the Polri has addressed thousands of water points. We must overcome the people’s difficulties without being overly procedural. This is why soldiers and police are in the rice fields. This is Indonesia. The TNI and Polri belong to the people and must solve the people’s difficulties,” he said.