The recent eruptions of Anak Krakatau have sent more than just ash\ninto the sky; the impacts are widespread. As of 7 September, 2,961\nflights have been affected, forcing approximately 341,000 passengers to\nadjust their travel plans. Several schools have transitioned to remote\nlearning, and in areas implementing distance learning, the Free\nNutritious Meal programme has been temporarily suspended. Safety is, of\ncourse, an indisputable reason.<\/p>\n
However, safety should not mark the end of service, but rather the\nbeginning of other obligations. When a service is forced to stop, the\nstate must ensure that citizens are immediately informed of what is\nhappening, what options are available, what rights they possess, and\nwhen services are expected to recover.<\/p>\n
Administrative Disaster<\/strong><\/p>\n Every disaster can strike twice. The first blow comes from ash,\nearthquakes, floods, or fire. The second blow emerges when citizens are\nforced to seek information themselves, repeat data, move from one\ncomplaint channel to another, queue to obtain their rights, and\nultimately bear the costs of decisions they never made. The first blow\nmay not always be preventable. The second blow is born from how\nadministration is designed.<\/p>\n Indonesia cannot continue to treat disasters as extraordinary events.\nOfficial government documents record at least 42,397 disaster incidents\nbetween 2015 and 2025. The 2025 BNPB (National Disaster Management\nAgency) Performance Report also calculates direct economic losses\nreaching Rp51.3 trillion, even without including the full impact of\nTropical Cyclone Senyar in Sumatra. Within such a vast landscape of\nrisk, crisis is not a deviation from the norm, but a part of the\nenvironment in which public services operate.<\/p>\n Donald Moynihan, Pamela Herd, and Hope Harvey (2015) demonstrate that\ncitizens bear three types of costs when facing administration: they must\nexpend effort to understand information, fulfil various procedures, and\nendure the psychological pressure of uncertainty. This idea was further\ndeepened by Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan (2018) in Administrative\nBurden: Policymaking by Other Means<\/em>. They warn that administrative\nburden is not always a byproduct of bureaucracy; it can arise from\npolitical choices regarding whether the complexity of service is borne\nby the state or shifted onto the citizens.<\/p>\n On ordinary days, such complexity is already difficult. During a\ndisaster, the consequences can multiply and become dangerous.<\/p>\n This is where the legitimacy of the state is at stake. Public trust\nduring a crisis is built not primarily through press conferences, but\nthrough small experiences at the frontline of service. Does the message\narrive before citizens depart? Do the sick know which health facilities\nare still operating? Do affected families receive aid without having to\nrepeatedly prove they are victims?<\/p>\n Law Number 25 of 2009 concerning Public Services actually provides a\nfoundation. Article 20 requires service standards to consider\nenvironmental conditions, while Article 25 demands the sustainable\nmanagement of facilities. The problem is that most service standards\nonly explain what citizens should do when offices, staff, networks, and\ntransport are functioning normally. Very few address what happens when\nall those prerequisites collapse simultaneously.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction\n2015\u20132030, adopted by UN member states, places the reduction of damage\nto critical infrastructure and the disruption of basic services as one\nof seven global targets. This means the measure of success should not\nstop at the number of lives saved or aid sent. The state must also\ncalculate how long schools, hospitals, transport, electricity, water,\nand civil administration services are disconnected.<\/p>\n A State That Remains Lit<\/strong><\/p>\n President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s call to increase mitigation budgets\ndeserves support. However, the budget debate should not stop at the size\nof the BNPB\u2019s ceiling. The 2026 State Budget allocates the basic BNPB\nbudget at approximately Rp491 billion, while the disaster reserve fund\nof Rp5 trillion sits in a separate post. Both serve different functions.\nAccumulating rupiahs in a single agency does not automatically make\nservices more resilient.<\/p>\n When an airport closes, the matter is not solely in the hands of the\nBNPB. It involves PVMBG, BMKG, the Ministry of Transportation, AirNav,\nairport operators, airlines, local governments, schools, and health\nservices. The strength of the system is determined by the connections\nbetween these institutions, not merely by the strength of any single\none.<\/p>\n Therefore, there are three improvements that need to be integrated\ninto public service policies and the 2027 budget:<\/p>\n Dual Service Standards:<\/strong> Every provider of essential\nservices must have two service standards: a standard for normal\nconditions and a standard for crisis situations. The second standard\nshould include activation triggers, the minimum capacity that remains\navailable, deadlines for information delivery, alternative channels,\ntreatment for vulnerable groups, and recovery targets. If a flight is\ncancelled, options for rescheduling, refunds, and alternative routes\nshould be sent automatically to passengers. Citizens should not have to\narrive at an airport only to obtain information that the system should\nalready possess.<\/p>\n A Single Crisis Information Architecture:<\/strong> The\ngovernment needs a single, trustworthy crisis information architecture.\nThis is not about a new application that adds to the clutter, but rather\nthe data connections behind the scenes. Information from technical\nagencies must immediately trigger actions in the transport, education,\nhealth, and local government sectors. Citizens should not be forced to\npiece together five different press releases just to understand a single\ndecision they must make.<\/p>\n Service Resilience Stress Testing:<\/strong> Service\nresilience must be tested and measured. The government needs to\ncalculate the time from a warning until the notification is received by\ncitizens, the duration of service interruptions, and the number of users\naffected\u2026<\/p>",
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