Human resource development is a priority for the second term of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo\'s administration.
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·5 minutes read
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara
Human resource development is a priority for the second term of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo\'s administration. One of the main pillars of human development is the improvement of the welfare of the entire society, including marginal groups or communities.
Welfare is not only measured by the economic level of the community, but also the extent to which the community is able to optimize its potential. In this context, Kompas interviewed Social Affairs Minister Juliari P Batubara in Jakarta on Friday (7/2/2020). The following are excerpts of the interview:
What is the Social Affairs Ministry doing to support human resource development?
The Social Affairs Ministry ensures all social welfare programs are running and the benefits are felt. The Social Affairs Ministry has several program pillars. For the pillar of the social protection program, there are the Family of Hope Program (PKH), non-cash food assistance (BPNT) and foodstuffs. For the pillar of social empowerment, there is community empowerment.
In the future, the two pillars will be combined. Starting in 2021, every year it is targeted that 1 million families from 15 million families receiving social assistance will no longer need assistance. One indicator that can be used is the condition of the recipient\'s houses.
Those who no longer need assistance mean they are prosperous. Welfare is a condition for forming superior human beings.
For the recipients who no longer need assistance, what is the next step?
They are guided to do entrepreneurship and can access soft loan facilities from banks or non-bank institutions. For those who cannot access bank services, the Social Affairs Ministry encourages them to Establish joint business groups (KUBe) until they can start a business and have confidence and are independent.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara
Empowerment will be carried out aggressively so that in the future, the Social Affairs Ministry will no longer be labeled simply as a ministry that shares assistance. The social assistance program will still be implemented, but the number of recipients will continue to be reduced.
How can you ensure that the social assistance is on target?
Ensuring 100 percent to be exactly on target is clearly difficult because in the Family of Hope Program alone there are 10 million recipients. The thing that can be done is to minimize abuse.
There are always protests about social assistance that is not on target for the recipients, but they must be checked. Those who complain must also be assessed objectively. If they are in the integrated social welfare data (DTKS) but they do not receive the social assistance, it is the government\'s fault.
Regency/city governments have also been asked to update the data of recipients. However, the data is still adjusted to the DTKS.
For the non-cash food assistance allocation, starting in 2020, there will be a reduction of 400,000 recipients, namely from 15.6 million to 15.2 million families due to the result of data correction.
The social assistance is expected to help reduce poverty. When the number of poor people falls, why do budgets and social aid recipients go up?
The PKH and BPNT have indeed helped alleviate poverty. However, there are other programs and economic opportunities that reduce poverty. The variables are numerous.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara
How does the Social Affairs Ministry assess the social assistance that is used as a political tool for certain parties?
I have nothing to do with politics. My task is to ensure the social assistance budget is channeled with a clear amount of assistance and recipients.
The Social Affairs Ministry can only appeal, even if the social assistance being provided uses the Social Affairs Ministry logo.
Indeed there are a number of parties who use the social assistance as a campaign tool and there are no sanctions. The Social Affairs Ministry can only appeal, even if the social assistance being provided uses the Social Affairs Ministry logo.
With regard to social empowerment, how does the Social Affairs Ministry encourage marginalized groups to become superior human beings?
The Social Affairs Ministry has 39 social rehabilitation centers. The centers could actually serve larger beneficiaries, but the budget is limited. Therefore, the Social Affairs Ministry has requested a budget reallocation to the House of Representatives of Rp 1.33 trillion (US$97.21 million) to add beneficiaries and revitalize the centers.
In these centers, beneficiaries can be trained to the extent that they are capable and can be absorbed by industries or work independently. Moreover, the Social Affairs Ministry also continues to raise awareness about the obligations of business entities and the private sector to recruit persons with disabilities as workers.
What about disaster mitigation?
Disasters are a common problem, not only the responsibility of the Social Affairs Ministry. The role of regional governments is also large, but often, their disaster mitigation budget is very small, less than 1 percent of the regional budget (APBD), even though in their regions experience disasters routinely.
In mitigating disasters, the Social Affairs Ministry intervenes on affected victims. Before the disaster, the Social Affairs Ministry makes sure officers and volunteers are on standby. During and after the disaster, assistance for victims must be ensured.
What is the target for the next five years?
It is simple: fewer poor families and fewer social assistance programs as well.
