BANDUNG (March 14, 2023) - Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini attended the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit's Technical Working Meeting (Rakernis) T.A. 2023 which will be held in Bandung, West Java.

The presence of the Minister of Social Affairs is also a form of appreciation for the National Police who have collaborated in overseeing the security of various aid distributions.

In front of key officials from the National Police, the Minister of Social Affairs explained two important strategies for dealing with poverty, namely increasing income and reducing expenses for poor and vulnerable groups.

"The role of the Ministry of Social Affairs is actually how poor people can be empowered in facing any conditions and situations. Then I tried how poor people can be independent, by increasing income and reducing expenses," he said when he was a speaker at the Police Criminal Investigation Working Meeting in Bandung, on Tuesday (14 /3).

Present on the occasion were the Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Inspector General Asep Adi Suheri, and the Directors of Criminal and Criminal Investigation at Regional Police throughout Indonesia.

On that occasion, the Minister of Social Affairs explained that the first strategy was to increase income in the form of job opportunities for Beneficiaries (PM) who had the ability. This work opportunity is pursued by the Ministry of Social Affairs by collaborating with the placement of employees in the business world and the public service sector which is under the control of the central or regional government.

"Some of those I placed worked in several companies. Now they are even managers, they used to be scavengers," said the Minister of Social Affairs.

Apart from that, empowerment for people with disabilities is also achieved. The government encourages and provides opportunities for PMs at integrated centers/centres belonging to the Ministry of Social Affairs to become suppliers of three-wheeled motorbikes. This three-wheeled motorbike was ordered by the Ministry as an access aid for people with disabilities.

The Minister of Social Affairs told of a disabled person named Gading who was given the help of a three-wheeled motorbike to sell. Now Gading earns an income of IDR 10 million/month, Gading can even afford to buy his own motorbike.

Another form of effort to increase PM income is through entrepreneurship. This effort was taken by providing stimulus through the Indonesian Economic Heroes (PENA) program. This program provides guidance and assistance to housewives to start the second economic engine in the family, in the culinary, handicraft, and home industry sectors. In 2022, as many as 4,766 PMs will receive the PENA program.

Apart from PENA, the Ministry of Social Affairs is also developing the Attention Creation Center which is an entrepreneurship based on creative industries, agricultural processing and various industries built through integrated centers owned by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Second, reducing expenses by providing subsidized housing in several areas. One of them that has been inaugurated is the Pangudi Luhur Bekasi Integrated Center Flats which provides a 5-story building consisting of 93 units including 5 units for people with disabilities. This residence with a rental fee of IDR 10,000 is also available in 11 cities.

"Apart from that, we also provide regular assistance in the form of the Family Hope Program (PKH) every 3 months for the components of children under five, school children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Then Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) which is distributed every 2 months, " said the Minister of Social Affairs.

The distribution of aid is also balanced with improvements to the integrity and quality of DTKS to ensure the accuracy of PM targets. Currently, there are 143,393,476 data on Dukcapil data.

The Integrated Prosperous Home Program also continues to be expanded for people with uninhabitable homes. During the 2022 fiscal year, as many as 10,600 PMs received the Integrated Prosperous Home program.

The Minister of Social Affairs also said that his party continues to strive to develop 3T areas (frontier, outermost, underdeveloped). Such as development after the Seroja hurricane disaster in Wini, North Central Timor, NTT together with DKK, YPP, kitabisa.com, and Astra (UT and Pamapersada).

"The Ministry of Social Affairs also provides empowerment for residents in the 3T area in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, and mechanics, one of which is fiber boat building training for residents of Agats, Papua in collaboration with ITS Higher Education," he added.

The Ministry of Social Affairs is also trying to build water sources and Community Centers for residents in the 3T area.

In the event of a disaster, the Ministry of Social Affairs builds a social warehouse for buffer stock containing ready-to-eat food, clothing, cleaning equipment, and necessities needed during an emergency. Lumbung Social is a solution to meet the needs of the community when facing natural and non-natural disasters that often occur in Indonesia.

In terms of outreach to public reports, the Ministry of Social Affairs has handled 6,627 cases during 2021-2022. Cases of vulnerable residents who need treatment come from the Ministry of Social Affairs' Media Monitoring and SIKS Command Center at number 021-171.

The Minister of Social Affairs said that of course the various efforts of the Ministry of Social Affairs cannot be separated from the role of the police agency. "What is clear is that we in the field regularly communicate with all police officers. For example, to several dangerous locations and to secure the distribution of aid," concluded the Minister of Social Affairs.