Indonesia’s parliament has approved a cut to the national rescue agency’s budget to fund other government priorities, even as the disaster-prone nation faces repeated floods, earthquakes and landslides.
The budget of Indonesia’s main disaster rescue agency has been reduced, following a parliamentary decision to redirect funds to government flagship programmes. The move comes despite growing concern over the country’s frequent natural calamities and the increasing demand placed on emergency services.
Budget shift and government priorities
A parliamentary commission has approved a reduction of 69.38 billion rupiah (about 4.15 million dollars) in the annual budget of the National Search and Rescue Agency, known as Basarnas. This represents a 4.5 per cent cut, bringing the agency’s funds down from the original 1.55 trillion rupiah to 1.48 trillion rupiah. The reallocation forms part of a broader financial plan guided by President Prabowo Subianto, focusing on expanding free meals schemes and bolstering defence expenditure. Ministries and government bodies across Indonesia have been instructed to make similar adjustments in line with these priorities.
Nation prone to natural disasters
The decision has sparked debate as Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world. The country’s location atop several tectonic plates keeps it susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and frequent landslides. In January alone, floods and landslides swept across several provinces. In West Java, at least thirty-four people were killed over the weekend, while more than thirty remain missing. Only a few weeks earlier, floods brought by cyclones battered Sumatra Island, leaving over a thousand dead and displacing more than one million residents.
Agency response and operational challenges
Basarnas chief Mohammad Syafii, who attended the parliamentary session, accepted the decision but noted the pressing need to strengthen the agency’s response capabilities. He highlighted that, given Indonesia’s geography and recurring disasters, each region should ideally have its own local office to speed up rescue operations. At present, Basarnas operates thirty-eight offices, one in each province, compared with the country’s five hundred and fourteen regions. This disparity, Syafii said, limits rapid response during emergencies.
Concerns over disaster preparedness
Although members of the parliamentary committee acknowledged the scale of recent disasters, they endorsed the reduction nonetheless. Committee deputy head Ridwan Bae praised the agency’s dedication but cautioned that its operational capacity might suffer under financial constraints. Critics fear the funding cut could undermine Indonesia’s disaster readiness at a time when the demand for swift, large-scale emergency responses continues to rise.
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