Bamsoet's Message To The Government About Debt: Long Term Payments Of At Least 30 Years

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Bambang Soesatyo reminded the government about managing state finances, especially in terms of debt withdrawal.

According to him, the government must think comprehensively about the benefits of the debt created and must ensure adequate capacity to pay.

"As a short-term strategy, proper prioritization and budget reallocation are needed," he said at the MPR Annual Session, Tuesday, August 16.

Bamsoet, Bambang Soesatyo's nickname, then encouraged the government to draw up a long-term plan to fulfill debt obligations.

This method is considered quite effective in reducing the excess burden of the state budget in the near term.

"The long-term strategy requires planning for debt repayments for at least the next 30 years," he said.

For information, the position of government debt at the end of June was at Rp. 7,123.62 trillion, equivalent to 39.56 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This amount is higher than the May 2022 book which amounted to IDR 7,002.24 trillion or 38.88 percent.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's foreign debt (ULN) was recorded at US$403 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year.

This value consists of government external debt (including Bank Indonesia) of 187.3 billion US dollars and private debt (including SOEs) of 207.1 billion US dollars.

"The policy of burden sharing not only with monetary, but also with the business world, can be an option in efforts to finance future uncertainties. At the same time, (the government and the central bank) must ensure that fiscal and monetary conditions are maintained," concluded the Chair of the MPR. Bambang Soesatyo.