Prabowo proposes housing aid in the form of building materials

President Prabowo Subianto has proposed that housing aid for low-income communities (MBR) be provided in the form of building materials as an alternative to cash assistance. During a Plenary Cabinet Session at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday, the President requested that the Ministry of Housing and Residential Areas (PKP) together with the Ministry of Social Affairs study the proposed change to the distribution mechanism for the Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance (BSPS). “Perhaps we do not give money, but we give materials. Give cement, give roof tiles, give wood, or give light steel and so on. So that more people can receive it,” said Prabowo. According to the President, distributing aid in the form of building materials could lower the value of assistance per recipient, thereby expanding the number of people who benefit. Prabowo asked Minister of Housing and Residential Areas Maruarar Sirait and Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf to examine the possibility of increasing the number of beneficiaries through adjustments to the aid value. Currently, the BSPS programme has reached around 400,000 beneficiaries with an aid value of Rp20 million per house.