Government Ensures Efficiency Without Sacrificing Public Services
By: Kiran Aarya
The government emphasized that the budget efficiency policy implemented will not sacrifice public services or cause mass layoffs. This aims to ensure that every rupiah spent truly provides optimal benefits for the community, in line with the vision of Indonesia Emas 2045.
Efficiency is not carried out to cut things that have a direct impact on the community, but rather to divert less productive spending to more beneficial programs.
Head of the Presidential Communications Office, Hasan Nasbi, clarified that contract workers who were not extended were not part of the efficiency policy, but because the projects they were working on had been completed. Contracts that end naturally cannot be equated with layoffs due to budget savings.
If there is an assumption that the efficiency policy leads to mass layoffs, that is a misperception. This policy is not designed to reduce the number of employees, but to ensure that the budget allocation used is more effective and efficient.
Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2025 directs that state spending be diverted from less productive activities to programs that have a greater impact on society. The government ensures that efficiency is carried out by considering the main priority, namely public welfare.
This step does not mean eliminating services, but rather optimizing spending to avoid waste. Every budget used must have a real impact on public welfare, not just fulfilling administrative formalities.
However, there are several agencies that have misinterpreted the efficiency policy. Several agencies have actually reduced basic services instead of cutting insignificant spending. Spending that is considered “fat”, such as ceremonial costs, non-essential business trips, and excessive purchases of office stationery, has become the focus of savings.
President Prabowo directly examines each state spending item in great detail to ensure that this efficiency does not harm the public. On various occasions, the President has emphasized that spending that does not have a major impact on society must be minimized.
Similar steps were also taken by the Public Broadcasting Institution Radio Republik Indonesia (LPP RRI), which emphasized that the 2025 budget efficiency would not result in mass layoffs. LPP RRI Spokesperson, Yonas Markus Tuhuleruw, ensured that despite budget adjustments, quality information services remain a priority.
RRI also utilizes modern broadcasting technology to increase efficiency without sacrificing infrastructure. According to Yonas, the status of contributors as freelancers needs to be clarified so that it is not misinterpreted as part of an efficiency policy that triggers layoffs.
Every work unit at RRI is encouraged to innovate in facing budget challenges, so that the efficiency implemented actually strengthens the institution. The use of previously adopted technology is key to ensuring that information services remain of high quality even though budget savings are made.
With this step, RRI emphasizes that efficiency does not mean a decrease in service quality, but rather an opportunity to improve and improve performance. Institutions that can optimize the use of technology will be better prepared to face the digital era and increase their competitiveness.
In other public service sectors, the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) also ensures that budget efficiency will not hinder public services. As an institution responsible for land and spatial management, ATR/BPN implements an efficiency strategy by optimizing service digitalization and simplifying administration. This innovation allows the public to access services online, reducing operational costs without reducing the quality of service.
Electronic Land Certificates and Electronic Mortgage Rights (HT-el) are concrete examples of how efficiency can go hand in hand with improving service quality. This step not only cuts expenses but also speeds up and simplifies the land administration process.
Redistribution of employees according to needs, utilization of technology in reporting and supervision, and elimination of less relevant ceremonial activities are also part of the efficiency strategy at ATR/BPN. This digital transformation also provides greater transparency in land services, which have often been colored by long bureaucratic problems.
