Worries emerge on state threshold deficit

The way forward: Prabowo inspects the Main Guard of Honour led by Major Azham Mohamad at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur. Back home, some economists are questioning Jakarta’s initiatives that they say lack clarity on funding sources. — Bernama

JAKARTA: At the 100-day mark of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, there is concern that development programmes that rely heavily on public spending could turn out to be more expensive than planned and accelerate government debt accumulation.

Wen Chong Cheah, a researcher at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), said that next year’s forecast based on the president’s policies to date indicated a financial deficit of more than 3%, which could last for the duration of his five-year term to 2029.