Despite 21.8 million Indonesians – around 8.56 percent of the country’s total population – living with disabilities, the government lacks disaggregated data based on a variety of disabilities.
By
·4 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS —Despite 21.8 million Indonesians – around 8.56 percent of the country’s total population – living with disabilities, the government lacks disaggregated data based on a variety of disabilities. This hinders the process of establishing inclusive development policies, consequently making it difficult to fulfill the rights of disabled persons.
In order to implement inclusive development and ensure equality for disabled persons, the Social Affairs Ministry’s directorate of disabled persons’ social rehabilitation has initiated the Disabled Persons Information System (SIMPD) that can be accessed at https://simpd.kemsos.go.id. Currently, disaggregated data based on a variety of disabilities has included 185,000 persons.
In line with Law No. 8/2016 on disabled persons, there are five categories of disabilities, namely physical, mental, sensory, intellectual and multiple.
“In terms of data, we have asked the social rehabilitation directorate general for immediate improvements. However, this involves processes,” Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara said in Jakarta on Tuesday (17/12/2019).
Separately, Indonesian Association of Disabled Persons (PPDI) chairman Gufroni Sakaril said the lack of detailed data on disabled persons made portraying the situations and conditions of disabled persons difficult.
“We need data [of disabled persons] by name and by address. Of the 21.84 million Indonesians with disabilities, [we need to know] who they are, what type of disabilities they have, how old they are and what their educational backgrounds are. This way, government programs can be more effective and efficient.”
Job opportunities
The disabled persons law mandates government agencies to set aside at least 2 percent of their job positions for disabled people. For private companies, the figure is 1 percent.
Juliari said two percent of the ministry’s 3,909 workers are disabled and hoped other ministries and agencies would follow suit.
The ministry and the Disabled Persons’ Working Unit have also established a work accessibility guideline that will be a reference for public offices and private companies in recruiting disabled workers.
Regarding the implementation of the disabled persons law, the government has issued Government Regulation (PP) No. 52/2019 on social welfare for disabled persons and PP No. 70/2019 on disability inclusive development planning, which require central and local governments to involve disabled persons in the development process.
To fulfill social welfare rights, apart from distributing 13,000 Disabled Person Cards, the Social Affairs Ministry also distributes social aid through the Family Hope Program, which covers 119,311 disabled beneficiaries.
The Social Welfare Agency will hold trainings for disabled persons to empower them economically.
The ministry’s social rehabilitation director general, Edi Suharto, said the government would also improve the performance of social rehabilitation agencies. The Social Welfare Agency will hold trainings for disabled persons to empower them economically.
The government also urges private entities to be involved in preparing disabled persons as human resources. On Monday, (16/12) Juliari attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an “Ability Hub” factory shop for disabled workers at the Metland Industrial Area in Cibitung, Bekasi, West Java. The project is managed by PT Metropolitan Land.
Many regencies and cities have issued policies and programs for disabled persons. The Surabaya city administration in Central Java, for instance, opened a massage parlor at the Siola Public Service Mall in April 2018 where all the massage therapists are visually impaired with therapy certifications.
The city administration has also opened massage parlors with visually impaired therapists at Bungkul Park and certain hotels. Disabled workers also work as secretariat officers in administrative offices.
“We give disabled persons the opportunity to be independent,” said Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini.
Meanwhile, the Surakarta city administration in Central Java has built ramps on a number of public facilities, including Batik Solo Trans bus stops, government buildings, community health centers (Puskesmas), traditional markets and bus terminals. The Surakarta Work Training Center is also designed to be disabled-friendly. The city administration also has a Disabled Advocacy Team to absorb the aspirations and identify problems faced by disabled persons.
“In terms of education, schools in Surakarta are inclusive,” said Surakarta Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo.
While some regions being disabled-friendly, researcher Fajri Nursyamsi of the Indonesian Center of Legal and Policy Studies said the biggest obstacle in implementing the disabled persons law was the lack of good examples for public services and minimum interaction between the government and disabled persons.
“Therefore, involving disabled persons in policy-making is important. This will entail a process of mutual understanding of everyone’s needs,” he said. (RWN/SYA/SON)