Bali bombing survivor fears losing life-saving aid to Indonesia's budget cuts

By Prasto Wardoyo

SIDOARJO, Indonesia (Reuters) - Over two decades and 37 surgeries on, Chusnul Chotimah is still reeling from the night she survived the Bali bombing, which killed 202 in one of the world's deadliest militant attacks.

Covered in burn scars, Chusnul, 55, now fears losing access to life-saving treatments after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced $19 billion in budget cuts to fund his election promises, such as school lunches, a move analysts say could disrupt services in the Southeast Asian nation and crimp economic growth.

The 2002 blasts targeting nightclubs in the Kuta Beach area of the tourist resort island of Bali, blamed on the al Qaeda-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah, killed 38 Indonesians and 88 Australians, as well as people of 20 other nationalities.

As Chusnul continues her painful recovery and struggles to keep her snack stall open in Sidoarjo in East Java, she relies on funding from Indonesia's victim and witness protection agency, LPSK, for medication and psychiatric assistance.

"I contacted Miss Susi, the vice head of LPSK, and asked, 'Miss Susi, is it true that there will be budget cuts to LPSK from the government?' She said yes. I asked, how will that affect the victims' medical aid? She told me, 'It seems your aid won't be safe'," Chusnul recounted.

LPSK chief Achmadi, who goes by one name, told Reuters the agency supports Prabowo's budget cuts but will still accommodate the rights of witnesses and victims while making efforts to be more efficient.

LPSK's budget was slashed by more than half to 108 billion rupiah ($6.6 million) this year, Achmadi told parliament last week.

Prabowo's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday. Prabowo's office has said the cuts apply only to unnecessary spending, not needed public services.

But ministers have responded to the presidential directives by cutting spending in categories from maintenance of roads and bridges to office lights.

Thousands of students hit the streets nationwide this week to protest the cuts over fears that they will undermine social support systems.

Chusnul, who makes barely $4 a day from her food stall, must pay not only her own medical bills but also for her son's expensive treatment for von Willebrand disease, a rare blood-clotting disorder.

Other Bali bombing survivors told Reuters they had sent a letter to the parliament and Prabowo, demanding LPSK be exempted from the cuts.

"I can try to look for money from working, I will fight for food and school for my kids, but for my treatments to go without LPSK's aid is impossible," Chusnul said. "I will no longer lead a normal life."

($1 = 16,300.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Prasto Wardoyo in Sidoarjo; Additional reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman in Jakarta; Writing by Zahra Matarani; Editing by William Mallard)