Minister Of State Secretary: President Prabowo Considers Student Demonstrations Reasonable In Democracy Countries

Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi said President Prabowo Subianto considered student demonstrations as normal in democracy.

However, Prasetyo asked people to be balanced and observant in receiving and understanding developing information, especially regarding government policies.

"Conveying opinions is normal and normal in democracy," said the Minister of State Secretary as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, February 18.

The Minister of State Secretary invited the public, including students who demonstrated, to be more observant in understanding confusing information about government policies.

He said the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati had also ensured that the government's efficiency policy would not have an impact on the budget for scholarships, UKT fees, and would not have an impact on the dismissal of honorary staff.

"We urge younger students to be more observant. From last Friday, the Minister of Finance explained, I was also present, together with the leadership of the DPR, that this efficiency has no impact on education. KIP (Smart Indonesia Card), scholarships, including LPDP ( Education Fund Management Institute) continues," said the Minister of State Secretary.

Prasetyo also emphasized that the spirit of efficiency was not to interfere with services to the community, but to cut state spending which had been less productive, for example, such as seminars or discussion events (FGD).

"The spirit of efficiency is not to disturb the community, but to cut things that are less productive, such as ceremonial events, seminars, or FGDs that are already too many. Now the people need real action," said Prasetyo Hadi.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani stated that the efficiency criteria for ministries/agencies include activities such as official travel, seminars, office stationery (ATK), commemoration and celebration events, as well as other ceremonial activities. This means that the education sector, especially universities, is not affected by the spending savings policy.

"We emphasize that the Indonesia Smart Card scholarship was not cut or reduced," said the Minister of Finance last week.

The Minister of Finance continued the number of recipients of scholarships for the Smart Indonesia Card for the 2025 fiscal year as many as 1,040,192 students. The budget that has been prepared for the scholarship is IDR 14.69 trillion.

"The budget is not cut and is not reduced. Thus, all students who have received and are receiving scholarships for KIP Indonesian Smart Cards can continue their learning programs as usual," said the Minister of Finance.

President Prabowo in the gathering of the Advanced Indonesia Coalition (KIM) at his residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, also emphasized that the government's budget efficiency did not interfere with operational activities.

The budget that has been saved has actually been diverted to programs that are more beneficial to the community, for example, the provision of fertilizers and improvement of educational facilities.

"So after that, the accounts, seminars, FGDs, group discussions forums, what are discussed? The people need mitigation, the people need fertilizer, the people need seeds, schools are repaired.lue seminars again," said the President.