He cautioned that careless efficiency may have a domino effect on society, such as declining public welfare, high unemployment rate, and failure to achieve the economic growth target.
"It can affect welfare, unemployment rate, economic growth, and others, when in fact, the government is targeting a quite high economic growth," he said on Tuesday.
According to Lasarus, the use of the State Budget is not merely for profit and loss, since it should be able to trigger and provide a boost to economic growth.
He said he has considered many impacts that could arise from the temporary cessation of budget discussions on infrastructure, such as the cessation of construction sector activities.
"Many people will stop working, resulting in poverty and low productivity and economic growth. It may affect everything," he added.
However, he assured that his committee, which oversees the infrastructure and development sector, will obey the state mechanism by complying with the presidential instruction regarding budget efficiency.
"The budget efficiency of around Rp300 trillion (US$17 billion) is still in the government. It is impossible to leave it unused. The government is still calculating which posts need efficiency," he informed.
He said that the government still has enough time to manage budget efficiency in each sector without disrupting important sectors prioritized for the community.
"We still have enough time for this budget efficiency. We believe we can discuss this matter in two weeks at the latest," he added.
Earlier, President Prabowo Subianto issued Presidential Instruction 1 of 2025, mandating a Rp306-trillion (US$18 billion) reduction in the government budget for the State Budget and Regional Budget.
The budget will be allocated to fund more important programs for the community, such as the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), food and energy self-sufficiency, and health sector improvements.
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Translator: Bagus Ahmad Rizaldi, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Primayanti
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