Minister Natalius Pigai's Request Regarding The IDR 20 Trillion Budget Not In Accordance With Prabowo's Directives

Member of the House of Representatives Andreas Hugo Pareira. BETWEEN/HO-DPR RI

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the House of Representatives Andreas Hugo Pareira assessed that Natalius Pigai's request for the Minister of Human Rights (HAM) to increase the budget for his ministry to Rp20 trillion contradicts President Prabowo Subianto's direction.

According to him, President Prabowo has reminded his cabinet officials to carry out budget efficiency. He also said the request was irrelevant considering that the budget for 2025 had been set for a joint discussion between the Government and the DPR.

"The 2025 budget has been set. Of course, it must be discussed first, especially since there is a separation into three ministries, namely the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections," Andreas said in a written statement reported by ANTARA, Thursday, October 24.

He also considered that the request should be discussed internally in the government first in an internal coordination meeting with the relevant coordinating minister.

The reason is, Andreas said the minister in principle is an assistant to the president who receives an assignment from the president.

In addition, according to Andreas, the demand for a large budget increase has the potential to crash into a national fiscal policy, especially in terms of overall budget allocation.

"Every significant increase in one ministry will reduce budget space for other ministries or sectors that also require large funds such as education, health, or infrastructure," he said.

Even so, Andreas also understands that the target that the Minister of Human Rights wants to achieve is of good purpose because it is based on the need to advance and enforce human rights effectively in Indonesia.

Therefore, Andreas asked that this matter must be carefully calculated and aligned with the long-term goals of President Prabowo's administration.

"Given the many sectors that require attention, including food security, infrastructure, and poverty management, the increase in the Ministry of Human Rights' budget must be taken into account with precision and implement priority scales," he said.

Previously, Human Rights Minister (HAM) Natalius Pigai believed that there would be an additional budget for the ministry he leads in the context of human rights development in Indonesia, both physically and unphysically.

The former Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission wants the budget for his ministry to be more than IDR 20 trillion.

According to Pigai, the development of human rights includes many things that consist of physical and unphysical, such as making regulations, protecting citizens, and fulfilling people's rights, which cannot be done with a small budget.

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