Purbaya's Tale of Being Grilled Over 'Reckless Spending'

Finance Minister Purbancy Yudhi Sadewa recently shared an account of being confronted with questions that served as a wake-up call regarding his role as the state treasurer. The former head of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) admitted to being questioned about the quality of state expenditure.

Unfortunately, Purbaya did not identify the individual who posed the question. According to the questioner, as Finance Minister, Purbaya was perceived to be remaining silent regarding the use of budget allocations deemed careless.

“I was asked earlier, ‘Since the Ministry of Finance controls the budget, why is there so much careless spending and you are just staying silent?’” Purbaya stated during the inauguration of Echelon I officials at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta recently.

Purbaya admitted his initial response was circuitous, yet he recognised the fundamental importance of the question. Following this encounter, Purbaya instructed Sudarto, the newly appointed Director General of Budget, to form an internal team to study every budget proposal to prevent further oversight, including matters regarding the budget for electric motorcycles intended for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme.

“I answered in a roundabout way, but I believe the question was correct and fundamental: why are we staying silent? Therefore, you must form a team within the Directorate General of Budget to control and study whether these issues exist,” Purbaya said.

“So, the complaint to us was indeed valid—that we appeared to be ignoring it,” he added.

Drawing from this experience, he requested that the Directorate General of Budget (DJA) act as the guardian of fiscal discipline and state expenditure, rather than merely managing the deficit. Purbaya urged the new Director General of Budget to be cautious when following up on Additional Budget Allocations (ABT), warning that these should not disrupt the overall budget.

“All budget plans must be executed consistently. This means if there are ABTs, you must be careful with the follow-up. You must ensure that because of an ABT, our budget is not disrupted. The important thing is to ensure that Ministries and Agencies understand that the fiscal discipline we implement aligns with what has been budgeted,” Purbaya explained.

Regarding the budget for electric motorcycles for the MBG programme, Purbaya previously revealed that he was unaware of the specifics. He only knew that the budget for electric motorcycles had been cut last year, but he was unaware that motorcycles had already been purchased through that procurement. Consequently, Purbaya admitted to being caught off guard. The budget in question amounts to IDR 1.05 trillion for the import of 25,000 electric motorcycles.