Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai Asks For A Budget Of IDR 20 Trillion: Don't Consider Me Remeh, I'm A Fielder

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai (left) and Deputy Minister of Human Rights Mugiyanto Sipin/ANTARA/HO-Humas Directorate General of Human Rights

JAKARTA - Human Rights Minister (HAM) Natalius Pigai believes that there will be additional budgets for ministries he leads in the context of human rights development in Indonesia, physically and unphysically.

Pigai admitted that he had spoken with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and the Ministry of Finance regarding the addition of the budget.

There will definitely be additions. And I have spoken directly with the Head of Bappenas and the Minister of Finance that we will carry out human rights development, both physically and unphysically," Pigai said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, October 21.

When asked about the estimated funds needed by the Ministry of Human Rights, the former Commissioner of Komnas HAM replied that the ministry he leads wants a budget of more than IDR 20 trillion.

"If the country has the ability, it wants to be above Rp. 20 trillion and Pigai can wake up, don't take it lightly. I am a field worker in human rights. I can if the country has a budget," he said.

When delivering his remarks at the welcoming ceremony at Gerha Pengayoman, Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham), Pigai had highlighted the budget allocation given to the Ministry of Human Rights.

"Why does the President want to make a Ministry of Human Rights? It means that there is something big to make. So, the tranition team is a budget," he said.

The Ministry of Human Rights focuses on human rights development in Indonesia. According to Pigai, the development of human rights includes many things consisting of physical and non-physical, such as making regulations, protecting citizens, and fulfilling people's rights.

According to him, human rights development cannot be carried out with a small budget.

"What if I say, I want to build 10 human rights study centers, build three human rights majors, intensify human rights awareness throughout Indonesia in every village, 80 thousand villages, but I can't, I'm not given enough facilities?" said the Minister of Human Rights.

According to him, the 2024 Ministry of Human Rights budget ceiling of Rp. 64.855 billion is not enough to realize President Prabowo Subianto's vision. Therefore, he requested that the budget be reformulated.

The Ministry of Human Rights is a development of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Apart from the Ministry of Human Rights, there are two other fractional ministries, namely the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.

At the welcoming ceremony, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Nico Afinta explained that the Ministry of Human Rights budget ceiling in 2024 was IDR 64.855 billion. This figure is 0.31 percent of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights budget ceiling.

"The Ministry of Human Rights is IDR 64.855 billion allocated for human rights protection and enforcement programs, public education on human rights, and the implementation of international cooperation in order to strengthen Indonesia's position in the global human rights sector," Nico said.

The Ministry of Law's budget ceiling is 35.14 percent of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights budget ceiling, which is IDR 7.294 trillion. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections received a budget ceiling of IDR 13.397 trillion or equivalent to 64.64 percent of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights budget ceiling.