Indonesian Funds Surge, DPR Requests Governance to be Improved

Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) has asked the Ministry of Culture to improve the management of the Indonesian Raya Fund. The cultural financing program attracted thousands of proposals, but is still complained about by the community because the administrative process is considered complicated.

This emerged in a working meeting between Minister of Culture Fadli Zon and Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives in Jakarta, Tuesday (19/5).

Fadli said the Indonesian Raya Fund was previously called the Indonesian Fund. In the previous implementation, the program received 6,431 proposals from 36 provinces, up 200.53 percent compared to 2024.

Of that number, 2,821 recipients were designated as beneficiaries. This figure jumped 694.55 percent compared to 2024 which only had 355 recipients.

However, Fadli admitted that there were still obstacles. Complaints mainly came from the cultural community regarding the administrative process involving the LPDP and the use of an application that was considered complicated.

"To overcome this, the Ministry of Culture is simplifying the registration system so that it is easier and more familiar for the cultural community," said Fadli.

Since the registration of the Indonesian Raya Fund opened on April 2, 2026, there have been around 3,995 proposals. The largest number of applicants comes from West Java, followed by Central Java, Aceh, South Sulawesi, East Java, NTB, and DKI Jakarta.

Fadli said the ministry would form a special team that would be more responsive to handling the Indonesian Raya Fund. The government has also set up a cultural financing service center.

"We are currently communicating the establishment of a cultural financing service center," he said.

Member of Commission X from the PDIP Faction, Once Mekel, appreciates the strengthening of the cultural ecosystem through the Indonesian Raya Fund. However, he highlighted the need for improvements in governance, transparency, and the distribution of beneficiaries.

Once also touched on complaints about disbursement, reporting, and refund which were considered still complicated.

In the meeting, Fadli also explained the assistance of Rp. 9.69 billion for people, artists, cultural figures, and cultural heritage affected by disasters. The assistance consists of logistics of Rp. 1.4 billion, cultural heritage recovery of Rp. 8.1 billion, and cultural human resources support of Rp. 113 million.

The Ministry of Culture also noted that it had designated 430 national cultural sites. Fadli said that this acceleration in designation was important for the development of cultural tourism, religious tourism, and cultural economy.

Commission X then gave a number of recommendations. Among them are improvements to the governance of the Indonesian Raya Fund, acceleration of the establishment of cultural reserves, strengthening international cultural diplomacy, collaboration with the private sector, and encouragement for an increase in the cultural budget in 2027.

Deputy Chairman of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Kurniasih Mufidayanti, appreciated the performance of the Ministry of Culture in the midst of budget constraints. Fadli stated that all recommendations would be recorded and followed up periodically.