TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto’s recent statement, which opened the possibility of reducing the budgets of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to raise judges’ salaries, is being interpreted as a pointed critique of the Polri's performance.
Police analyst from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), Bambang Rukminto, sees the remark as a subtle but clear signal highlighting inefficiencies in Polri’s budget utilization.
"President Prabowo's statement can be interpreted as a sarcasm towards the Indonesian National Police, which receives a very large budget, but its performance is still far from the people's expectations," said Bambang to Tempo on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
According to Bambang, the Indonesian National Police has shown tendencies toward excessive spending, especially on programs outside its core duties and functions. For this reason, he believes it is reasonable to consider budget cuts for institutions deemed inefficient.
"If the National Police is inefficient in using the budget, it is better to cut the budget for other state institutions," he said.
Bambang also viewed Prabowo’s message as an example of how budgetary policy can be used to exert pressure on institutions that are not aligned with the government.
"Budget politics can be used to control institutions that are not in line with the President," he said.
Bambang’s comments came in response to Prabowo’s speech delivered at the Supreme Court’s Grand Hall in Central Jakarta on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
During the speech, Prabowo emphasized the need to raise judges’ salaries by up to 280 percent, even if it meant reducing the budgets of other ministries, including the military and police.
"If necessary, I will reduce the budget of other ministries. Here we have the TNI Commander and the National Police Chief. If necessary, I will cut the budgets of the TNI and Police," said Prabowo, earning applause from the judges in attendance.
Prabowo stressed the critical role of judges as the final bastion of justice and lamented the lack of adequate housing and stagnant salaries over the past 18 years. He said the pay raise would be implemented gradually, with junior judges receiving the highest increase.
When asked to comment on the President’s remarks, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo responded with laughter. He admitted it was difficult to answer reporters' questions on the matter.
"This is a difficult question to answer. It's a joke," Listyo said during an event for laid-off workers in front of the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta on the same day. His response drew laughter from fellow police officials present.
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