Palace Critics Who Budgeted IDR 8.3 Billion For New Cars, PKS: Government Needs To Be Smart, Can Rent!

Chairman of the DPP PKS Mardani Ali Sera (Twitter @mardanialisera)

JAKARTA - Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) Party criticized the palace's move to budget IDR 8.3 billion for the procurement of new cars. The party led by Ahmad Syaikhu assessed that the budget was very burdensome for state finances.

Moreover, Indonesia is currently struggling to deal with the third wave of COVID-19. "There are many ways to carry out the main tasks and functions without burdening the state's finances", said PKS chairman, Mardani Ali Sera, to reporters on Tuesday, February 8.

According to Mardani, the government should be smarter in dealing with state finances. Instead of being busy buying a new vehicle, he said, it's better to focus on dealing with the pandemic.

"Now is the era of not owning a vehicle. It can be rented or otherwise. The government needs to be smart in dealing with the state's financial condition. Focus on handling the pandemic", he stressed.

The member of House of Representatives Commission II also asked the government and other state officials to have a greater sense of social sensitivity.

"Public officials, especially the president and his assistants, should increase their sense of crisis", concluded Mardani.

Reportedly, the work unit of the Jakarta Presidential Palace, Ministry of State Secretariat, has budgeted IDR 8.3 billion for the procurement of new cars using the 2022 State Budget.

Judging from Electronic Procurement Services (LPSE) of the Ministry of Finance website, this tender code is numbered 35735011 with the name of the tender for the Procurement of Motor Vehicles for the 2022 Fiscal Year.

The written tender date is January 7, 2022, with the current tender stage being completed. The tender was held for the Ministry of State Secretariat, the work unit of the Jakarta Presidential Palace.

"The budget year is the 2022 state budget. The package ceiling value is IDR 8,357,765,500 (IDR 8.35 billion). The value of the HPS package is IDR 8,315,976,200 (IDR 8.31 billion)", the site wrote.