TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Senior economist and Rector of Paramadina University, Didik J Rachbini, agreed with the Supreme Audit Agency's (BPK) move to remind Jokowi's government about increasing debt during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moreover, he went on, the debts are not only that of the State Budget of Rp6,527 trillion but also of State-Owned Enterprises worth Rp2,143 trillion.

“The debts of financial SOEs amount to Rp1,053.18 trillion and non-financial SOEs debts reach Rp1,089.96 trillion. So, the total state debt under [the government of] Jokowi is now Rp8,670 trillion,” said Didik in a written statement, Wednesday, June 24.

He also highlighted SOEs that were asked for and burdened with the task of infrastructure development. If SOEs fail to pay or go bankrupt, it will add the burden to the state budget, and that will be part of the government’s debts.

“The debt of the government of President Jokowi will possibly reach more than Rp10,000 trillion,” Didik predicted.

He underlined that there are consequences if the debt issues are not addressed. “The state budget will be paralyzed by the debt burden with a very high interest payment and principal debt. The state budget can be a trigger to an economic crisis,” Didik argued.

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