The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 08/04/2009 10:06 AM | Headlines
Captain Indonesia: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono unveils the 2010 state budget proposal during the House of Representatives’ plenary session in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama
President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono says that the government will allocate Rp 327.6 trillion (US$33 billion) for the operation of state ministries and institutions during the 2010 fiscal year, but a number of lawmakers and experts say that this is not enough.
The National Education Ministry will receive Rp 51.8 trillion from the budget, making it the highest single recipient of the state revenues.
“The large allocation to the Department of National Education is mainly intended to finalize the execution of the compulsory nine-year basic education program,” Yudho-yono said during an extraordinary plenary meeting at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday.
“We also aim to finalize the equitable distribution and expansion of access to education, as well as improve the quality, relevance and competitiveness of education,” he added.
However, despite being the largest recipient, this actually represents a decrease in funding from last year, when the ministry received Rp 62 trillion, according to its official website.
Deputy chairman of House Commission X on education, Heri Akhmadi from the Indonesian De-mocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told The Jakarta Post that this year’s allocation was not enough if the President was indeed serious about improving the quality of education.
“Around 25 percent of the budget for the National Education Ministry will be allocated for school operational costs, another 25 percent will be allocated for paying teacher’s salaries. With such a condition, I believe that the real budget allocated for education will not be enough,” he said.
“Higher education will suffer the most, as the government has already told us that the funds for research will decrease from Rp 1 trillion to a mere Rp 100 billion,” he added.
As the National Education Ministry sees its budget allocation decrease, the Defense Ministry is set to receive additional financial support from the government.
“In 2010, the department of defense is projected to receive a budget allocation totalling Rp 40.7 trillion,” Yudhoyono said.
“The budget allocation for that department is mainly allocated to preserve the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia,” he added.
The defense budget increased by more than Rp 7 trillion from last year.
Despite the increase, Bantarto Bandoro, a defense expert from the University of Indonesia, said it would take twice that amount for the country to have a respectable defense force.
“The defense budget is not enough. With that kind of amount, the government will only aim to preserve and maintain the old weaponry system and infrastructure, not buy anything new,” he said.
“In my opinion, the government is only trying to ease the pressure to increase the defense budget coming from experts and analyst,” he added.
The reputation of the country’s defense department has been heavily tarnished in recent months as
numerous military planes have crashed and Malaysian battleships commit continuous border violations in the Ambalat waters off East Kalimantan.
“Judging from those accidents and our border conflicts with Malaysia, it would be better for the government to allocate most of the defense budget to the Air Force and the Navy,” he said.
The Health Ministry is also set to see its budget rise to Rp 20.8 trillion, from Rp 19.3 trillion last year.
The chairman of the Indonesian Health Consumer Empowerment Foundation, Marius Widjajarta, told the Post that the government should use the budget to focus on preventing the spread of disease and raising health awareness. (hdt)
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