Jakarta. The government has already prepared the money needed for ministers to switch their fancy rides to the domestically made Maung, according to finance chief Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, but the ball is now in its producer Pindad's court to meet the rising demand.

President Prabowo Subianto has ordered his ministers to ditch their lavish cars in favor of Maung. This all-terrain vehicle, produced by the state defense maker Pindad, is initially used for military purposes, but also comes in civilian versions. Purbaya recently spoke to reporters on whether the government was financially ready to place a huge order for the Maung. A unit of the non-armored, civilian type has a price tag of between Rp 400 million and Rp 500 million ($24,067-$30,084). The military version costs Rp 600 million ($36,093).

“We will have to take a look at the industry’s readiness [to meet our orders]. But have already allocated the funds for the Maungs, and it’s a pretty huge number. However, the production capacity is still not enough to serve the requested design,” Purbaya told the press in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

The minister said that parts of the funds remained idle due to Pindad’s insufficient production capacity. He added: “Maybe next year, we will buy the vehicles once they [Pindad] are ready.”

Purbaya did not say how much money the government had actually set aside for the major auto purchase. 

Prabowo's Maung instruction came when he gathered all his ministers for a cabinet meeting that marked their first year in office. When Prabowo assumed power last October, the retired army general set up a giant cabinet that included 48 ministers, 59 deputy ministers, and 5 ministerial-level officials. The world's largest Muslim-majority country Indonesia also now has a standalone Hajj Ministry. At Monday's cabinet meeting, Prabowo pushed for the use of locally made cars among his subordinates to support the domestic auto industry. The retired army general even talked about his recent premium minivan Alphard trip. 

“Just the other day, I wanted to be in incognito mode so I rode in an ordinary car, an Alphard. It has been a long time since I have been in one, whoa, how nice. But I told myself ‘You are the Indonesian president, so you have to set an example by using Maung wherever you go,” Prabowo said.

“Soon, all of you will have to use Maungs. Just use the fancy cars on the weekend or maybe when I don’t summon you,” Prabowo told the ministers as the room broke into laughter.

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