Andrea Hosana & Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Four ministers from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet attended the hearing for the dispute over the results of the 2024 presidential election in the Constitutional Court on Friday.
The four cabinet members – Chief Cultural Affairs Minister Muhadjir Effendy, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini – all provided testimony on Friday.
They provided testimony regarding their duties and functions, which are alleged by presidential candidates Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo to have influenced the results of the 2024 presidential election. The allegations suggest that the Jokowi government provided unfair advantages to election winner Prabowo Subianto through an intensified government social assistance program ahead of the election.
Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto testified that Indonesia is not the only country providing social assistance to its citizens. He noted that other countries, such as Singapore, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, also provide bansos to their citizens.
"Social protection programs are the government's efforts to support the community in facing various economic vulnerabilities and pressures. The government provides social protection to maintain the purchasing power of affected communities, especially the poor and vulnerable," explained Airlangga.
Airlangga highlighted that the largest social protection program comes from subsidies for fuel, electricity, LPG, and fertilizer. Additionally, he mentioned that Indonesia has been affected by El Nino since September 2023, disrupting food production, especially rice.
Chief Cultural Affairs Minister Muhadjir Effendy denied that the government's rice reserve assistance program (CBP) provided from January to June 2024 favored Prabowo in the 2024 presidential election.
Muhadjir stated that the government's rice reserve assistance program is provided to prevent an increase in the poverty rate.
"To prevent an increase in the poverty rate and to achieve the target of reducing the poverty rate," said Muhadjir during the hearing of the dispute over the 2024 presidential election at the Constitutional Court on Friday.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati emphasized that the preparation of the State Budget (APBN) for 2024 had been completed before the determination of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates participating in the 2024 presidential election.
"We explained this to align with the timeline of the preparation process for the 2024 state budget, which was completed on September 21, 2023, and enacted on October 16, 2023," said Sri Mulyani.
"When the timeline for the preparation of the 2024 state budget is juxtaposed with the stages of the presidential and vice-presidential election process conducted by the KPU, the enactment of the 2024 state budget law was completed even before the determination of the presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs," she added.
Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini, commonly known as Risma, stated that government assistance distribution will not be delayed due to the election as it is crucial for the poor to be able to sustain themselves.
"We must ensure that the assistance is not delayed. For the poor, it's about their survival. Sometimes, they can't afford to eat for a month. Therefore, we are very disciplined in ensuring that assistance is distributed promptly," concluded Risma.