JAKARTA – Several Indonesian ministers are discontented with President Joko Widodo’s overspending on social aid and seeming partiality ahead of the Feb 14 polls, but they are likely to stay in their posts to maintain government stability, sources told The Straits Times.
One such Cabinet member is Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who had privately conveyed her discontent to Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, the chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), two people said on condition of anonymity.
They disclosed that Ms Megawati had advised Dr Sri Mulyani, and other disgruntled ministers, against quitting before their terms end in October, citing the need to maintain national stability.
Dr Sri Mulyani, a 61-year-old veteran technocrat, is understood to be concerned about the impact of the social aid expenditure on her credentials and reputation. In the Jan 31 cover page of Tempo newspaper, she was portrayed as conspiring in the imprudent use of state coffers for politics.
The government has stepped up distribution of cash handouts and rice packages since November 2023. In 2022, 460.6 trillion rupiah (S$39.4 billion) was earmarked for social aid, compared with 496.8 trillion rupiah in 2024.
The sources said other ministers affiliated to PDI-P have also considered resigning, over how Mr Widodo seems to be showing partiality towards the pairing of his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as running mate to presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in the upcoming election.
The Cabinet consists of cadres or professionals affiliated with political parties and non-partisan technocrats, who are sometimes also close to certain political parties.
Of the 34 Cabinet ministers, six are from PDI-P and several others are close to the party chairman, including Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Dr Sri Mulyani. Both ministers have occasionally held discussions with Ms Megawati and maintain good relations with her.
Some of the ministers from PDI-P have consulted with Ms Megawati following strained relations between the ruling party and Mr Widodo, whom they accused of breaching democratic norms and using his institutional privileges to favour the Prabowo-Gibran ticket in the three-way race.
There were reported instances of PDI-P presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo’s supporters being restrained by security officers during rallies, and their posters being taken down by the security officers.
The third presidential candidate, Mr Anies Baswedan, faced an unexpected region-wide electricity blackout just as he was about to hold a rally in Madura, East Java.
He went ahead with the event and the power supply returned to normal after. Mr Anies’ campaign team blamed state utility PLN for its unprofessionalism. PLN declined to comment when contacted by ST.
The President’s alleged partiality has already prompted Mr Ganjar’s vice-presidential partner Mahfud MD to announce his resignation as chief security minister on Jan 31.
One of the sources told ST that Ms Megawati “fully understands that if ministers resign in a group, that would fuel instability, which in turn would hurt the lowest income-earners the most”.
Mr Yoes Kenawas, a research fellow at Atma Jaya Catholic University, told ST: “Social aid has been used as a political tool in past campaigns in Indonesia and elsewhere. This is not the first time, but the magnitude of the increase (in social aid) this time has exceeded all past instances.”
“The aid even exceeded the amount given out during Covid-19, when we actually needed it the most,” he added.
On Feb 1, Mr Widodo announced a 600,000 rupiah cash handout for 19 million families to mitigate rising food prices, to be distributed before the Feb 14 election.
Earlier, a 200,000 rupiah cash handout – called the El Nino mitigation fund – was given out.
The President also personally handed out 10kg rice packs to locals in a village in Salatiga, Central Java.
This social aid would positively affect Mr Widodo’s approval ratings, which would in turn boost the chances of the presidential candidate he favours, Mr Yoes said.
The recipients were also told the handouts were “presidential aid”, when in fact they were government aid, Mr Yoes added, stressing that the funds used obviously came from the state coffers, not from an individual.
A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Dr Sri Mulyani also took issue with the rechannelling of funds allocated for another purpose to social aid.
Dr Sri Mulyani served as finance minister between 2005 and 2010, during the tenure of then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. She then served as the World Bank managing director for six years through 2016 in Washington before returning to Indonesia, where she was appointed finance minister by Mr Widodo.
Under her leadership, the ministry launched efficiency drives that allowed spending and economic development in a more equitable manner.
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, the two social aid figures in the fifth paragraph were stated as billion rupiah. This is incorrect. Both should be trillion rupiah. We are sorry for the errors.
