Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The government's plan to design a new social service system for the most vulnerable groups in society has been welcomed by both activists and observers. Nevertheless, they say questions the government need to address still remain.
Ade Irawan from Indonesia Corruption Watch's (ICW) public monitoring division said the government's intention was better than ever, but still too little, too late, while University of Indonesia public policy observer Andrinof Chaniago said the government had to set serious targets for the new system.
In the Cabinet meeting last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono to set up a team responsible for designing the new system in the next three months.
The President said the system would address social issues faced by the most vulnerable groups in society: abandoned elderly people, disabled people, children with legal or drugs problems and those living on the streets, the poorest of the poor and people suffering from serious diseases such as thalassemia.
"Existing programs for the poor, such as Jamkesmas [health insurance scheme for the poor] and School Operational Aids haven't specifically addressed the needs of these people," Ade told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview on Friday.
"These groups are the most vulnerable and yet they have the least access to these programs. They're mostly very poorly informed due to their lack of knowledge and they often have administrative problems when trying to access the programs," he added.
Ade said a permanent system to address the issue was necessary, but emphasized that the government needed to involve NGOs in planning the new system.
"The government needs to talk to us so it can understand the root causes of the problems," he said. Andrinof said the government should set both qualitative and quantitative targets for the planned system, and set out a detailed plan to measure the success of the system once it is implemented.
He added that the government had to change its mindset to empower those who could still develop. "The government has to build the potential of these people and set up programs that can help them develop. This way they will able to become productive members of society," he said.
Andrinof added that those who could no longer be productive, such as the elderly, should be taken care of by the government.
Wardah Hafidz from the Urban Poor Consortium, however, expressed skepticism of the government's plan, saying it was redundant, citing dozens of existing programs aimed at the poor that were poorly implemented.
"Why can't the government work more effectively and efficiently? Why can't it just deploy people already tasked with the [existing] programs instead of setting up a new team and swelling its ranks?" she said.
"There are many departments running these programs, but they're badly coordinated. This is what needs to be changed. The government needs to integrate its various programs and coordinate with the people in charge," she added.