REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government should not trim the budget for defense and security as it would reduce Indonesia's combat ability in the region, stated member of House of Representatives' Commission-I overseeing defense and foreign affairs Bobby Rizaldi.

"To protect and uphold the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), the government should not trim the budget for defense and security and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) sectors," Rizaldi remarked here on Monday.

According to Rizaldi, the National Defense Forces require a significant amount of funds to procure the latest equipment and main weaponry systems (Alutsista).

The legislator noted that between 1998 and 2008, no modernization of Alutsista was carried out in Indonesia, although many of them were obsolete.

He stated that the defense sector needed the budget not only for modernizing Alutsista but also for upgrading and procuring new ones.

"In addition, drug control should be a priority, so that the budget for the National Police to maintain public order should also not be reduced," he affirmed.

The Golkar party politician emphasized that it was risky to trim the budget for defense and security and the BNN since it would be the same as weakening the state's "hard power" in its task to maintain the sovereignty of NKRI.

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