Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairman of the Government Digital Transformation Acceleration Committee Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government is gradually shifting its digital-based social assistance and subsidy distribution scheme from in-kind aid to direct cash transfers.
Speaking after a ministerial-level meeting on expanding the Social Protection Intervention Program (Perlinsos) here on Wednesday, Pandjaitan said the government has begun scaling up digital-based data collection to determine beneficiaries’ socio-economic status.
The digitalization of social assistance has reportedly been completed in 43 districts/cities and is now being expanded to cover 258 districts/cities, so that social assistance can be better targeted once all data is integrated using government technology (GovTech).
The government’s current focus is on recipients of the Family Hope Program (PKH) and staple food aid, he informed.
“Going forward, perhaps within the next one to two years, subsidies will no longer be in the form of goods, but will go directly to people, in cash,” Pandjaitan said.
Pandjaitan revealed that President Prabowo Subianto’s directive emphasized the importance of delivering social justice through the use of digital technology.
Meanwhile, the large-scale rollout of GovTech for social assistance digitalization is targeted to begin in October 2026, supported by inter-ministerial/agency data integration based on artificial intelligence (AI) developed by Indonesian talent.
“As of now, around 98 percent of the 289 million population data records have been synchronized. All this data is now integrated with each other across ministries and agencies through an AI-based system developed by Indonesian talent,” Pandjaitan said.
Pandjaitan added that all data on distribution will be presented in real time and evaluated weekly to monitor regions or ministries facing obstacles in accelerating digitalization and implementing the Perlinsos program.
To ensure social assistance reaches communities in remote and outlying areas, the government has opened up involvement to various parties as Perlinsos agents.
These agents include members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police (Polri), such as village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa), the police’s security and public order officers (Bhabinkamtibmas), as well as civil servants (ASN).
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Translator: Prasetyo, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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