Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Ms Rinda (not her real name to protect her identity) and around 30 of her colleagues have worked for the past week with most of the lights in the office switched off, after President Prabowo Subianto ordered budget cuts for ministries and government agencies.
Three out of every four fluorescent light clusters in her 200 sq m office have stayed dark since Feb 5.
"The room used to be very bright. The dim light darkens our mood. Under such circumstances, we cannot work optimally," the 35-year-old civil servant at the Ministry of Industry told The Straits Times.
Public sector offices are now locked at 4.30pm, marking the official end to the workday, whereas in the past, they were locked only after staff finished their work.
The air-conditioners in Ms Rinda's office are cut off at that time, and the main tower lifts stop working, forcing her and her co-workers to move to nearby cafes to continue discussions or finish their tasks.
Similar scenes are played out in many other ministries and government agencies throughout Indonesia, a country that has 4.8 million civil servants, as Mr Prabowo has ordered 306.7 trillion rupiah (S$25.8 billion) of budget cuts in 2025.
He plans to use the savings to pay for his priority programmes, including his flagship 400 trillion rupiah free-meal scheme for students and pregnant women.
The budget cuts amount to 8.5 per cent of the total 3,621 trillion rupiah 2025 budget.
In his remarks conveyed virtually at the World Governments Summit 2025 on Feb 13, President Prabowo said that his administration could save around 10 per cent of the annual state budget through "careful management" of state funds.
"These savings that were allocated to projects and programmes without a clear strategy will now be used to finance more than 20 multibillion-dollar strategic projects that will transform the country," he said.
Hotels, restaurants and meeting halls have complained about reservations being cancelled for civil service events.
The budget of the Public Works Ministry was cut by 54.5 per cent to 50.5 trillion rupiah, raising questions over the building and maintenance of basic infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.
The cut means the ministry will have to halt the construction of dams, the development as well as reconstruction of irrigation networks to support rice farming, and other infrastructure, such as for the prevention of flooding, local media has reported.
Another civil servant, Mr Indra – who also chose to not give his real name for fear of retaliation – has also been working in his office at the Transport Ministry with one in four available lights switched on since Feb 4.
Worse, his superiors decreed that just one of the five air-conditioners can be turned on, at a minimum temperature of 25 deg C.
"It is less conducive to work under such lighting, and with only one air-conditioner turned on, we also feel quite hot," he told ST.
Ms Lidya, a civil servant at the Tourism Ministry who also wanted to use a pseudonym, said staff have been told to hold virtual meetings instead of having them at hotels. "It feels like we are back to the pandemic mode," she said.
The budget cuts have prompted public criticism, with civil servants raising concerns beyond day-to-day office operations as their key programmes, activities and targets are also largely affected.
"We terminated partnerships with third parties, such as for surveys on people's mobility ahead of the Hari Raya exodus," Mr Indra at the Transport Ministry said.
Mr Hariyadi Sukamdani, chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, told ST that the total potential revenue loss for hotels operating nationwide could reach 24.8 trillion rupiah in 2025, as reservations of rooms and meeting venues at three- to five-star hotels plunge due to the budget cuts.
Around 52 per cent of the overall bookings garnered by the hotel industry typically come from the events hosted by ministries and other government institutions.
"The budget cuts will have a far-reaching effect on the hotel industry. Vendors that supply hotels, such as food and beverage producers, will be affected," Mr Hariyadi said.
"If the situation continues, we will at the end reduce the number of our employees, adjusting with guests served."
Experts say that the budget cuts could have negative ripple effects on the wider economy, amid greater concerns over global growth as US President Donald Trump wants to impose tariffs on many countries, which could reciprocate likewise.
"The economy at the regional level depends heavily on government spending to drive its growth," Dr Mohammad Faisal, executive director of Jakarta-based think-tank Centre of Reform on Economics Indonesia, told ST, referring to the economy of provinces, cities and regencies.
"So the budget cuts will have quite a significant impact."
The government's move will hit the private sector, especially tourism-related businesses, causing layoffs while slowing the expansion of the overall economy, added Dr Faisal.
Indonesia's economy would grow by only 4.8 per cent this year, he predicted, compared with an expansion of 5.03 per cent in 2024. The government, meanwhile, is targeting economic growth of 5.2 per cent for 2025, although it aspires to achieve annual growth of 8 per cent by 2029.
[Linda Yulisman is Indonesia correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers business, politics, social affairs and the environment.]