Prabowo's Oversized Cabinet Gets in the Way of Budget Efficiency
Prabowo's budget cut policy is deemed ineffective as it does not address the fundamental issue of a large and complex cabinet structure.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Economist and Public Policy Expert at UPN Jakarta, Achmad Nur Hidayat, comments on President 's budget cut directives affecting ministries, state agencies, and local governments. He says the policy will prove ineffective if it fails to address the underlying issue of the large and complex cabinet structures.
Achmad believes that streamlining ministries and state agencies can provide a more substantive solution to budget efficiency. “An overly bloated cabinet will result in a waste of budget to cover operational costs, allowances, and an increasingly tangled bureaucracy," Achmad said as quoted from Antara, on Monday, February 10, 2025.
"The Prabowo administration must be brave enough to reassess the effectiveness of existing ministries and institutions."
Achmad views Prabowo’s bloated cabinet as an influence of political compromises rather than a genuine functional demand for the government, resulting in inefficient policy coordination and a burden to the state budget.
He also highlights the budget cut policy that lacks the strategy to prevent disruptions in ministries performance. According to him, budget efficiency must not focus solely on cutting state spending, but also on optimizing the use of available funds.
"For example, the budget reduced from ministry allocations could be reallocated to more prioritized programs, such as public infrastructure spending, social assistance targeting vulnerable groups, and job creation programs," he says.
With this approach, the budget cut policy will impact not only the state’s financial report, but also be beneficial to the citizens. For example, he says, the funds can be reallocated to bolster welfare programs such as social assistance and energy subsidies.
"This policy will help to curb inflation and maintain the stability of basic needs’ prices, so people are not burdened by price surges caused by excessively tight fiscal policies," he says.
Budget cuts should also be directed towards providing financing access for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through loan interest subsidies and more flexible credit schemes. Thus, budget efficiency will not only reduce the state's burden but also drive economic growth.
Especially within the first 100 days of Prabowo’s administration, challenges have started to emerge among the president's aides. Several ministers even seem to have a lack of understanding of the outlined government's vision and mission that has been outlined, thereby necessitating regular performance reviews.
He believes that the evaluation should not only focus on individual performance but also on overall institutional effectiveness. "If there are ministries or state agencies that do not provide optimal contributions to the government's targets, then streamlining should be considered. Overly large and complex institutions will hinder the government's progress," he stated.
Therefore, he maintains that the budget efficiency directive could be the right policy if implemented with a clear strategy, refocusing the budget on impactful programs.
Achmad also emphasized that budget efficiency should not only stop at for ministry expenditures but also include reforming the cabinet.
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