TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi said he acknowledged the increase to the budget for the Indonesian Independence Day celebration in Nusantara Capital City or IKN. According to him, the celebration that will take place both in IKN and Jakarta contributes to the budget increase.

“It’s a transition period, so the celebration is conducted in two places. There’s no leap (in budget), I think it’s justifiable, and the budget is from the Ministry of State Secretariat,” he said on Friday, August 9, 2024.

Minister of State Secretary Pratikno acknowledged that the budget for this year’s August 17 ceremony is bigger than the previous years. However, he diverted the question on Independence Day budget detail to the Head of the Presidential Secretariat Heru Budi Hatono.

Meanwhile, Heru Budi only repeated Pratikno’s statement and admitted that he did not know how much money was disbursed for the Independence Day celebration the previous years.

The Independence Day celebration budget was put under scrutiny after the government reportedly rented 1,000 units of luxury cars for VVIPs and state guests in IKN.

The news was first revealed by the Head of the Regional Leadership Council (DPD) of the Indonesian Regional Car Rental Entrepreneurs Association (Asperda) of East Kalimantan Damun Kiswanto in Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan Province, Sunday, August 4, 2024.

He said the ministry has signed an MoU with his side to procure 1,000 car units for the Independence Day celebration. The government has made 50 percent of down payment, he said.

The East Kalimantan Asperda had to bring in additional car units from outside the region due to the limited number of cars available.

High demand also caused car rental prices to spike. For example, the normal rental cost for a Fortuner car was Rp2.5 million per day, which has doubled to Rp5 million per day.

"Even Alphard which was usually Rp7 million per day has increased quite significantly to Rp25 million per day," said Damun Kiswanto.

Pratikno denied the government has rented 1,000 units of cars for VVIP and state guests in IKN. Ministry Secretary Setya Utama then clarified that the Palace only rented 200 buses for the mobility of IKN guests and the flag-hoisting officials.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

Editor’s Choice: Garuda Palace in Nusantara Is Symbol of Indonesian Independence, Says Minister Basuki

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News