"Since the government decided to adjust the fuel price, we added social assistance of Rp12.4 trillion for BLT BBM to 20.65 million KPM. The realization has reached Rp6.2 trillion,” she said at a press conference on the state budget in Jakarta on Monday.
The realization of Rp6.2 trillion is half of the budget ceiling for BLT BBM of Rp12.4 trillion, she added.
Each of the 20.65 million KPM will receive Rp150 thousand per month for four months— September to December. The assistance will be given twice in stages and have a nominal value of Rp300 thousand.
Meanwhile, Rp2.62 trillion of the Rp9.6 trillion allocated for the Wage Subsidy Assistance (BSU) has been disbursed to 4.4 million out of 16 million beneficiaries as of September 16, the minister informed.
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BSU is being provided to workers who have a maximum salary of Rp3.5 million per month. They will each receive assistance amounting to Rp600 thousand.
The BLT BBM and BSU budgets have been diverted from the fuel subsidy budget, which was allocated after the government raised fuel prices in early September.
The government's objective in diverting the fuel subsidy budget was to maintain the purchasing power of the people affected by the spike in the price of basic necessities.
Apart from BLT BBM and BSU, the government has also launched a social protection program, whose realization reached Rp261.8 trillion as of the end of August 2022.
The social protection program involves the provision of aid under the Family Hope Program (PKH) to 10 million KPM, basic food cards to 18.7 million KPM, cooking oil BLT to 21.8 million recipients, pre-employment program to 2.8 million participants, village BLT to 7.5 million KPM, and people’s business credit (KUR) interest subsidies to 5 million debtors.
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Translator: Astrid Faidlatul H, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
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