Gov’t Prepares Assistance Programs for Implementation in Q4 to Protect Public Purchasing Power
President Prabowo Subianto, on Wednesday (09/30), held a limited meeting with several Red-and-White Cabinet ministers at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta to discuss several government assistance programs prepared for implementation in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said in a press conference after the meeting that the Government is preparing several assistance programs to protect public purchasing power. These programs include the opening of bank accounts for society members, food assistance, and wage subsidy assistance for workers.
“In the meeting with Mr. President earlier, we discussed government assistance programs prepared for implementation in the fourth quarter,” the Coordinating Minister said.
The Coordinating Minister explained that the first program discussed in the meeting was the opening of bank accounts for citizens over the age of 17. The program is aimed at people in deciles 1 through 4. The Government is currently working with relevant ministries to verify the number of potential beneficiaries.
“Second, we confirmed food assistance amounting to 10 kilograms [of rice] for each beneficiary family for a three-month period, which will be distributed in one installment for October through December. This will be provided to 33,244,408 beneficiary families in deciles 1 through 4, with an estimated budget requirement of around Rp17.5 trillion,” he said.
The third program discussed in the meeting was the reinstatement of wage subsidy assistance. According to the Coordinating Minister, the assistance will be provided in a single payment covering three months, at Rp300,000 per month per worker, and will target around 13.3 million workers. The program is estimated to require nearly Rp12 trillion in funding.
In addition to protecting public purchasing power, the Government also intend those programs to help people meet their daily needs during the final three months of 2026. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (FI/TM)
