Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto, is cooking up a storm to fulfil his political promises – which include his flagship Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, food security, energy security, housing, and defence. The cost is high, and massive budget cuts to prioritise these government programmes are already underway.
Around the same time, neighbouring Vietnam has also trimmed its national budget. However, there is a stark contrast in how efficiently the two countries are implementing their budget cuts.
To reduce spending, Vietnam cut red tape and streamlined its ministries and state agencies. The country has merged and reduced its ministerial-level institutions from 30 to 22. It also plans to gradually cut its civil service workforce by 20% over five years.
