CIKEAS, KOMPAS.com - The national defense budget can be increased if the country’s economic conditions have improved. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mentioned that to reporters during an inspection of a housing complex for presidential security guards (Paspampres) at Bojong Nangka in the Gunung Putri area, Bogor, Monday.
The president said with the impact of the global financial crisis in Indonesia being managed in a better and better way , there was hope for an increase in the national defense budget. "With reference to the defense budget, the government’s policy should accord with economic developments, and after the crisis is over this year we hope we can increase the defense budget next year no matter who will be president," Yudhoyono said.
According to the president, the government hoped the defense budget would approach the figure of so-called "minimum essential funds" to pay for "minimum essential forces". "The available funds, whether for operations, education, training, maintenance, soldiers’ welfare, and modernization of military main armament system, should be used properly," the president said.
He explained that an even greater budget was needed for the Defense Ministry. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono after accompanying President Yudhoyono on the occasion said what he was doing at present was improving the efficiency in the use of the defense budget, including the budget for maintenance.
"The budget for main armament system maintenance at present is Rp600 billion, and we will try to raise it to Rp 700 billion like in 2008, and if possible we will increase it to Rp 1 trillion next year," Sudarsono said.
