Jakarta. Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan raised concerns during the 2024 presidential debate regarding the purported misuse of the Defense Ministry's budget of Rp 700 trillion ($45.15 billion), alleging it was used to acquire second-hand military equipment.

However, a closer look reveals that the ministry's budget is not solely designated for purchasing used military assets but also includes allocations for new equipment and the development of the defense industry.

"A budget of Rp 700 trillion is used to buy second-hand military equipment," claimed Anies during the presidential debate on Sunday.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance, the Defense Ministry's budget for 2020-2024 amounted to Rp 692.92 trillion, with the highest recorded in 2022 at Rp 150.44 trillion.

Contrary to Anies' claim, the Ministry of Defense has engaged in the procurement of new military assets. In early 2023, the ministry acquired four brand-new aircraft and a helicopter from the United States and local company Dirgantara Indonesia for the Naval Aviation Center (Puspenerbal).

These new assets include a Single-engine Bell-505 helicopter, three Piper Archer training aircraft, and one CN 235-220 MPA aircraft. Notably, the CN 235-220 MPA, the sixth aircraft in the Puspenerbal fleet, is a product of Indonesia's aerospace company, Dirgantara Indonesia.

Prabowo Subianto, Anies's adversary in the election and the current Defense Minister is committed to optimizing domestic products as part of his support for national defense. Prabowo actively promotes the procurement of TNI military assets produced by local defense industry companies, such as Dirgantara Indonesia, state-owned shipyard PAL, state-owned weapons manufacturer Pindad, state-owned arms company Dahana, and state-owned electronics manufacturer LEN.

Prabowo's dedication to strengthening the national defense industry has garnered notable achievements. The Defense Ministry secured the second position in national spending on increasing the use of domestic products in June 2023 among ministries and state institutions.

The increased budget allocation is divided into three stages until 2034, with a total expenditure of $ 55 billion. In the 2024 State Budget, the government allocated Rp 43 trillion for the modernization program of military and non-military assets, as well as defense infrastructure. This allocation represents a 16.3 percent decrease compared to the projected budget realization in 2023.