"The assumptions used to calculate the 2013 RAPBN are generally quite realistic."Jakarta, Aug 17 (ANTARA) - A lawmaker from the faction of the Islamic-based Welfare and Justice Party (PKS) described as realistic the macro economic targets set in the draft state budget (RAPBN) for 2013 proposed by the government last night.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed the budget bill at a House plenary session with economic growth target sets at 6.8 percent, inflation at 4.9 percent, rupiah exchange rate at 9,300 to the US dollar, oil price at US$100 per barrel , oil lifting at 900,000 barrels per day, gas lifting equivalent to 1.36 million barrels per day and interest rate on 3-month state treasury notes at 5 percent.
"The assumptions used to calculate the 2013 RAPBN are generally quite realistic," deputy chairman of the PKS faction Sohibul Iman said commenting on the budget bill here on Friday.
Sohibul said the assumptions are still within the range agreed upon earlier between the government and the House of Representatives.
He said, however, that the targets for oil prices and oil and gas lifting still need to be debated between the government and the Parliament.
He said the government had apparently taken into account worse crisis in Europe in setting the target for economic growth.
The target set by the government is more conservative than the target agreed upon earlier by the government and the Parliament at 6.8 percent-7.2 percent.
"The target set by the government is relatively quite high . This would have any meaning if we could improve the quality. What is important is improvement of the quality," he said.
The growth should create more jobs and reduce poverty and the gap between economic classes, he added.
"We have serious problem with our relatively high economic growth over the past several years. The growth ironically increased lopsidedness in the distribution of income," he said.
(Uu.AS/H-ASG/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
