Cut THR ASN, Sri Mulyani: Government Saves IDR 5.5 Trillion

Illustrated. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government ensures that the state civil servants (ASN) echelon III and below will still receive holiday allowances (THR). However, the number will decrease compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, for echelon III and above, including regional officials, state officials, presidents, ministers, DPR RI, and DPD, it is certain that they will not receive THR.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said that the THR that ASN will get will only be in the form of basic salary and inherent allowances, not including performance allowances (tukin). That way, the government can save on personnel expenses.

"Because we do not pay the THR which includes performance allowances, that means we can reduce the THR budget to Rp.5.5 trillion," he said, in a virtual press conference for our APBN, in Jakarta, Friday, April 17.

Sri explained, because he did not issue a budget for performance allowances, it means that the previously allocated budget will be canceled and included in the overall APBN.

"Shopping for health, Bansos, and various MSME supports also raises new spending," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, Askolani, said that since the last two years all ASNs have received additional THR from the existence of the tukin component. This will also apply to all civil servants, both in central and local governments.

"This also applies to central and local government ASNs. The policy is the same for retirees who are still given the same as what was obtained last year," he explained.

However, unfortunately, Sri Mulyani and Askolani were reluctant to mention the total budget prepared by the government for THR ASN and pension this year. As for last year, the government budgeted THR for ASN and pensioners amounting to IDR 20 trillion each.