Jakarta. The government has asked the state-owned defense company Pindad to produce 5,000 units of its SUV model, Maung, for cabinet members and echelon-1 officials.

AM Putranto, head of the Presidential Staff Office, said on Wednesday the production of 5,000 Maung SUVs should be completed within 100 work days.

"All [cabinet members] are mandated to use that car. Our target is to acquire 5,000 units after 100 work days and the number will be increased to 10,000 units afterward," Putranto said at the legislature complex in Jakarta.

Putranto said 70 percent of Maung’s components are built locally. The remaining parts including the platform, engine, and chassis are outsourced from foreign carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and SsangYong.

The local SUVs will be prioritized for high-ranking officials of the central government, he said, adding that the procurement for local government officials will be arranged later.

According to Putranto, the current production capacity at Bandung-based Pindad cannot meet the entire demand for government uses across all 38 provinces.

Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Nusron Wahid was among the first cabinet members to confirm orders for Maung vehicles.

He has talked directly with Pindad CEO Abraham Mose and placed an order for 11 Maung SUVs.

"We have nine echelon-1 officials, a minister, and a vice minister, so we need at least 11 vehicles," Nusron said.

During a cabinet retreat in Magelang last week, President Prabowo Subianto mandated all his aides to switch their imported cars to the Pindad vehicles. 

Maung was originally designed as a tactical vehicle for the military with a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The president has frequently used the civilian version of Maung in recent public appearances.

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