Ex-Deputy Gov Quips Anies Baswedan about Hike in Poverty Rate

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Djarot Saiful Hidayat, the chairman of the PDIP central executive board (DPP), publicly quipped Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan about the hike in the poverty rate in the capital. As of September 2021, the city’s poverty rate reached 4.67 percent, or close to the rate of 15 years ago.

The former deputy governor said the surge in the city’s poverty rate would not occur if he and former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok win the 2017 regional head election.

“If Pak Ahok and I, in the past, were given one more chance [to lead Jakarta], I'm sure it won't happen,” said Djarot on the sidelines of PDIP’s national meeting in South Jakarta, Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

He expressed concern about the rising poverty rate while the city had a huge regional budget (APBD). According to Djarot, the budget should be intended to provide subsidies for the poor.

“There is an OKE OCE program, what is [the result?]. This is what makes us sad. We support Formula E, but how much budget was allocated? If it was for building flats for the people, it would be much more effective to reduce poverty. The zero-rupiah down payment project was also unclear while in fact, the APBD is really big,” he said.

Quoted from the official page of Jakarta Regional Statistics Indonesia, jakarta.bps.go.id, the city’s poverty rate continued to increase from 2019 to 2021. It was recorded at 3.47 in 2019, 4.53 percent in 2020, and 4.72 percent in 2021.

The Current Jakarta Deputy Governor Riza Patria stated that the increase in the poverty rate was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This did not only happen in Jakarta but also in other regions and even regions abroad.

DEWI NURITA

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