REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The 2019 State Budget will focus on maintaining the momentum of prosperity of the people, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani said. An increase in the allocation of cash assistance distributed through the Family Hope Program should be felt by the people soon.

"So, the expenditures should be utilized for the prosperity of the people," Mulyani stated here on Monday.

The minister revealed that the government has increased the budget to improve human resources in the fields of education and health. The education budget rose from Rp440 trillion to Rp495 trillion. The health budget also increased from Rp110 trillion to Rp125 trillion.

The budget for infrastructure rose from Rp405 trillion to Rp410 trillion. In addition, the government was concerned about the global economic uncertainty.

"Foreign capital flow has also begun to enter Indonesia. As a result, the balance of payments has become more positive in this regard. Therefore, the pressure on the rupiah decreased," the minister explained.

The government also focused on the stability of food prices and job openings.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), at a plenary cabinet meeting on the 2019 national program and activities, drew attention to the good economic growth that Indonesia had experienced in 2018.

"I got a report from the finance minister that in the midst of global economic uncertainty, our national economy grew positively," Jokowi revealed here on Monday.

The plenary cabinet meeting was attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, all ministers of the working cabinet, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian, and several other state officials.

"We expect (the national economy) to grow by around 5.15 percent, so that inflation will then be controlled at a low level, under 3.5 percent, and the rupiah exchange rate will continue to be maintained," the president elaborated.

The basic assumption of Indonesia's national macroeconomics in 2018 estimated economic growth to reach 5.4 percent, inflation to be some 3.5 percent, and the exchange rate of the rupiah against the US dollar at Rp13.4 thousand per US dollar. The president also noted that the realization of the 2018 State Budget showed a sound and credible performance.

Based on the last report, he said there was a deficit of 1.76 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product). According to him, the primary balance is also very important, and it has reached minus Rp1.8 trillion and this should be underlined.

"This result is much better than the target of Rp87.3 trillion in the state budget," Jokowi pointed out.

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