Poverty Rate Takes Center Stage in Economists' "7 Urgent Economic Demands"

The Indonesian Economic Alliance assesses that national life is increasingly distant from the vision of social justice for all Indonesian people. Therefore, seven urgent economic demands were issued on Tuesday (September 9, 2025).

One of the underlying factors for these seven urgent economic demands is inequality in various dimensions, such as between groups and across social and demographic backgrounds, marked by the stagnation of welfare improvements for the lower, vulnerable, and middle classes.

"While the upper class is growing faster," said Elan Satriawan, an economist from Gadjah Mada University representing the Alliance, in an online press conference.

This inequality can be seen in the number of poor people in certain regions. In Maluku and Papua, for example, the poverty rate in 2005 reached 38.9%, decreased to 28.7% in 2015, and further decreased to 24.7% in 2025.

Meanwhile, in other regions, although poverty is high, it is not as high as in Maluku and Papua.

"The inequality between provinces in eastern Indonesia, especially Maluku and Papua, is extremely high, not only in terms of poverty but also in other socio-economic issues," he said.

The following are the seven urgent economic demands, as quoted from Katadata.co.id:

1. Thoroughly rectify the misallocation of the budget and allocate funds to policies and programs in a fair and proportional manner.

2. Restore independence, transparency, and ensure there is no intervention based on the interests of certain parties in various state institutions, and return state institutions to their proper functions and integrity.

3. Stop state dominance that risks weakening local economic activity, including the involvement of Danantara, SOEs (State-Owned Enterprises), the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces), and the Polri (Indonesian National Police) as dominant actors, which creates an uncompetitive market and can eliminate local jobs, the UMKM (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) ecosystem, the private sector, and social capital.

4. Deregulate policies, permits, licenses, and simplify bureaucracy that hinders the creation of a conducive business and investment climate.

5. Prioritize policies that address inequality in various dimensions.

6. Return to evidence-based policies and technocratic processes in policymaking and eradicate populist programs that disrupt fiscal stability and prudence (such as free nutritious meals, Merah Putih village/sub-district cooperatives, rakyat schools, downstreaming, energy subsidies and compensation, and Danantara).

7. Improve institutional quality, build public trust, and improve the governance of state institutions and democracy, including eradicating conflicts of interest and rent-seeking.