Luhut Pandjaitan Defends 'Work from Bali' Program

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan responded to the wave of criticism coming from a number of economists against his "work from Bali" program he mentioned on May 18. 

Critics said Luhut’s idea must be properly disseminated to the public to avoid misconceptions on budgeting while Luhut Pandjaitan argued the program may help Bali’s economy that had recorded a contraction of up to 9.8 percent. 

“I don’t understand them sometimes, these economists,” he said at the 20th anniversary event of Del Foundation in South Jakarta on Monday, March 31. 

Luhut said the "work from Bali" program was one of the government’s stimuli taking an unexpected form. “It is a government aid too, taking form as something else, which would help the hotels run operations, people can work.”

State apparatuses who work in seven state ministries under the supervision of Luhut Pandjaitan’s coordinating ministry are subjected to the program. There are at least 16 hotels that are prepared to accommodate the state apparatus in the area of Nusa Dua, Bali. 

Bhima Yudistira, an economist from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, has blasted the program. "This is not a good policy. The government is having difficulties in overcoming the deficit of the widening state budget. Work visits should be reduced,” he wrote in a text message to Tempo on May 21. 

The  Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) executive director, Roy Salam, argued on May 23 that the "work from Bali" program must be explained transparently to the public, and that the budget’s accountability should be ensured.

“It must be open [to public scrutiny] on how many people are sent there, how much of the budget is used, what facilities are being given to them,” said Roy to Tempo on Sunday, May 23. 

Read: Seven Ministries under Luhut's Office to Run Work from Bali Program

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