Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Unlike Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) and the Public Broadcasting Institution (LPP) TVRI which had terminated employment due to budget efficiency, the National News Agency (LKBN) Antara did not experience budget cuts even though they are government media.

"Alhamdulillah (Praise to God), we are not like our friends at RRI and TVRI who experienced budget restructuring," said President Director of Perum LKBN Antara Akhmad Munir while attending a meeting with Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta, Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

He explained that his party did not experience cuts because Antara is structurally under the auspices of a State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN). So, he said, compared to relying on the State Budget (APBN), Antara's funding sources come more from business cooperation through Public Service Obligations or PSO. "So we as Perum LKBN Antara think more about business and commerce every day," he said.

As for the state's contribution, continued Munir, it comes through PSO news from the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi). He explained that Komdigi provided a budget ceiling of Rp184 billion with the condition that Antara must meet the given criteria. The criteria include the number of hard news articles as many as 144,250, articles 1,500, photos as many as 17,00, features articles 40, and so on. "We verify the assignment to be paid by the state or not," said Munir.

With this business perspective, said Munir, the amount budgeted and paid are different. "Like being paid in full in 2024, that means we work one hundred percent. But if it's in 2023, it's a little less," said Munir.

Furthermore, although there is no certainty whether Komdigi will cut the budget or not, Munir believes there will be no cuts. "But based on the circular from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministries and Institutions, it seems that this publication will not be cut. Because this is how the state is present in society with accurate information," he told Tempo, when met after the meeting.

For information, President Prabowo Subianto carried out a number of budget efficiencies to ministries and institutions (K/L) by issuing Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 1 of 2025 concerning Efficiency of Spending and Implementation of the 2025 State Budget and Regional Budget. The Inpres was issued by Prabowo on January 22.

Then, to follow up on the instruction, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati issued a circular letter Number S-37/MK.02/2025 dated January 24, 2025 concerning Efficiency of Spending of K/L in Implementation of the 2025 State Budget.

Through this letter, the 2025 budget ceiling of LPP TVRI was cut by 48 percent from the previous total budget of Rp1.52 trillion to Rp1.06 trillion. Meanwhile, RRI was cut by Rp170 billion from the previous total of Rp1.07 trillion to Rp899 billion.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1974777/unlike-rri-and-tvri-why-isnt-antara-hit-by-budget-cut