Aisha Shaidra, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that corruption is a major issue in Indonesia during his State Address at the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the House of Representatives (DPR) on Friday, August 15, 2025. He asserted that corrupt practices are present at every level of the bureaucracy.
"We are aware that corruption is a major problem in our nation. Corrupt practices exist at every echelon of the bureaucracy, in every government institution and organization, even in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and regionally-owned enterprises. This is not a fact we should hide," Prabowo said during a live broadcast of his speech on the Presidential Secretariat's official YouTube channel.
He went on to say that the pervasiveness of corruption has been the greatest challenge he's faced since taking office. "After 299 days of leading the executive branch, I increasingly understand the enormity of the challenges we face and the extent of corruption within the government."
Budget cuts and reallocation
This recognition of corruption, Prabowo explained, was the basis for the efficiency policies he announced in early 2025. "At the beginning of 2025, we identified and saved 300 trillion rupiah from the state budget that we considered vulnerable to misappropriation," he claimed.
He noted that several budget irregularities were discovered, including excessive funds allocated for domestic and international travel and inflated office stationery budgets. "And various budgets that have long been sources of corruption," he added.
These efficiency measures, he stated, align with the mandate of the Constitution, specifically Article 33, paragraph 4. "We have reallocated the 300 trillion rupiah to more productive projects that will directly benefit the people," he asserted.
Directive for budget cuts
Prabowo officially issued a budget efficiency directive on January 22, 2025, through Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2025, which focused on spending efficiency in the 2025 fiscal year's state and regional budgets.
The instruction outlined that eight government agencies would be subject to budget cuts, including ministries, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Attorney General's Office, non-ministerial government agencies, state secretariats, governors, and regents/mayors.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, in an interview, explained that Prabowo had requested that the budget cuts be carefully considered. Spending that was deemed to have a positive impact on the economy and welfare would be strengthened, while other expenditures would be reduced.
Prabowo also stated that the efficiency measures were intended to ensure the budget was more focused on initiatives that directly benefit the community.
"These include free nutritious meals, measures such as food and energy self-sufficiency, improvements to the health sector, and measures to improve the quality of the community so they can become increasingly superior community resources," Sri Mulyani said, as reported on January 27, 2025.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2039719/prabowo-acknowledges-pervasive-corruption-in-state-addres