Apindo Calls For Fuel Subsidy Removal
15 August 2014 17:50 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said the next government must remove fuel and electricity subsidies from the state budget.
He added the funds for subsidies should used instead to eradicate poverty and build infrastructure. “I’m not expecting much, except that the government must be firm,” said Sofjan on Friday.
Sofjan said the government must also prioritize the real sector in the state budget as it would lead to more employment opportunities. He added the goverment must also streamline its bureaucracy to eliminate malign interests. “The government must manage its internal first,” he said.
He hoped that Joko Widodo’s government would resume programs such as e-KTP and other electronic services to cut the bureaucratic red tape.
Today, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will announce the 2015 state budget and financial note in the House of Representatives (DPR)'s plenary session. The speech will be delivered before all ministers in the Second United Indonesia Cabinet and DPR members.
PRIO HARI KRISTANTO
