Safeguard State Budget, Purbaya: Ministry and Agency Budgets to Be Cut!

Jakarta — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has disclosed that a limited coordination meeting (Rakortas) chaired by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto discussed plans for budget savings and efficiency.

Purbaya did not provide specific details on which budget lines would be reduced. However, he indicated that the government would postpone additional budget allocations.

The government will prepare the necessary efficiency measures, with detailed plans already prepared. “If fuel prices continue to rise, efficiency will be our first step,” Purbaya said on Monday (16 March 2026). “We have already instructed ministries and agencies to prepare their plans and determine what percentage of their budgets will be cut.”

When asked whether a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) would formalise the efficiency drive, Purbaya stated that no legal instrument has yet been issued. “There is no Inpres,” he said.

According to him, the policy is designed to keep the state budget deficit under control. “First, we need to protect the APBN and keep the deficit manageable. If that becomes impossible and prices spiral out of control, we will take other measures,” he explained.

Regarding a Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu), Purbaya emphasised that the government does not yet believe it necessary to revise the maximum deficit ceiling, so a Perppu is not required at this stage. This aligns with President Prabowo’s directives.

“Since the budget remains secure, and if oil prices remain stable at high levels for a prolonged period, we will reassess the budget situation. But we will not resort immediately to a Perppu,” he said.