Decision To Cut Aid Australia's Right: President

Jakarta, May 13 (Antara) -- President Joko Widodo considers the Australian government's decision to cut aid to Indonesia its right. "Yes, it is the Australian government's right to decide whether it will cut or cancel it (the aid)," he said here on Wednesday. The Australian government has confirmed it will slash aid for Indonesia by 40 percent from some Rp6.3 trillion (US$605 million) in 2014 to only around Rp3.8 trillion (US$366 million) for the 2015-2016 period. President Jokowi, as he is also known, believes it is something that has to be accepted as it is. "It is their right. So you should not cry about it," he remarked. The head of state did not respond when asked whether Indonesia should appreciate Australia's decision. He merely smiled and immediately left the journalists seeking his comment on the issue. The cutback was known when Australian Minister/Treasurer Joe Hockey presented the 2015-2016 draft budget at the parliament on Tuesday evening. Until now, Indonesia has been recorded as the biggest recipient of Australian foreign aid, having received US$605 million in 2014. Indonesia's relations with Australia were disturbed following the execution of two Australian citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran over drug trafficking recently. They were among the eight drug convicts on death row who were executed recently. The others were Raheem Agbaje Salami, Silvester Obiekwe Nwaolise alias Mustofa, and Okwudili Oyatanze from Nigeria; Zainal Abidin from Indonesia; Rodrigo Gularte from Brazil; and Martin Anderson alias Belo from Ghana.