There is one anxiety that slowly accumulates when we repeatedly read\nthe speech of the BPK RI Chair during the Submission of the Semester II\n2025 Examination Results Summary before the DPR RI Plenary Session on\nTuesday, 21 April 2026. The figures are large, achievements are visible,\nand there is even legitimate pride when it is mentioned that from 685\nexamination result reports (LHP)\u2014consisting of 7 financial LHPs, 237\nperformance LHPs, and 441 LHPs with specific purposes\u2014the state has\nsuccessfully uncovered and saved potential losses of up to Rp42.87\ntrillion. Within that, there is Rp18.53 trillion in the form of losses\nand potential revenue shortfalls, as well as Rp24.34 trillion due to\ninefficiency, ineffectiveness, and lack of prudence.<\/p>\n
However, amid this series of achievements, something feels not\nentirely intact. This country appears to work very hard\u2014but not always\nas one body. It moves, but not necessarily in the same direction. It\nbuilds, but not necessarily unites.<\/p>\n
This is where we need to reflect: the problem with our development\ntoday is no longer the absence of programmes, but the weakness of the\narchitecture that contains them. If we trace it deeper, the problem\noriginates from the upstream\u2014from the place where policies should be\nborn clearly and measurably: data.<\/p>\n
The BPK Chair\u2019s speech indicates that food data and information\nsystems are not yet complete and optimal, and even between ministries,\nthey are not fully connected. At the same time, in the education sector,\nthe Basic Education Data (Dapodik) has indeed been improved through\nverification with population data, but it does not yet guarantee the\nintegrity of data quality throughout the cycle\u2014from input stage to\nsynchronisation.<\/p>\n
At this point, the problem becomes more fundamental than mere\nadministrative technicalities. It touches on how the state understands\nits people. How can policies be on target if the reality that forms\ntheir foundation is not yet intact?<\/p>\n
The state walks in a fog\u2014making big decisions with limited vision. We\ndo not lack good intentions, but we often lose precision. Yet, precision\ncan only be born from accurate, intact, and interconnected data.\nTherefore, future development cannot start from projects. It must start\nfrom a fundamental decision: uniting data as the single foundation of\nstate policy.<\/p>\n
From the data issue, we move to the next layer, which is deeper and\nmore obscure but has broad impact: policy fragmentation.<\/p>\n
The BPK firmly reveals the existence of cross-ministry and agency\nissues that remain fragmented. Even in human development, cross-sectoral\nhealth and education norms, standards, procedures, and criteria (NSPK)\nhave not been fully established.<\/p>\n
Here, the state appears to work in separate spaces. Ministries\nproceed with their agendas, state institutions with their programmes,\nand regional governments with their respective priorities\u2014without truly\nintact orchestration.<\/p>\n
The consequence is simple, but costly: programmes overlap, budgets\nflow without maximum efficiency, and results never truly reach their\nbest potential.<\/p>\n
Thus, we need to change our perspective. Coordination cannot be\nmerely interpreted as meetings or discussions. It must be elevated to\npolicy integration. The role of coordinating ministries cannot stop as\nadministrative connectors, but must become architects ensuring all parts\nof the state work within one grand design. Without that, development\nwill only be a series of activities\u2014not an intact change.<\/p>\n
In this context, the food sector provides the most tangible\nillustration. On one side, achievements deserve appreciation: 2025 rice\nproduction reached 34.71 million tonnes, an increase of 13.36% from the\nprevious year, and the unhulled rice absorption policy successfully\ngathered 3 million tonnes of rice reserves without imports.<\/p>\n
However, on the other side, the BPK found that land extensification\nand intensification planning does not fully consider needs and land\nsuitability, and is not yet synchronised with infrastructure support\nsuch as irrigation.<\/p>\n
Here is where the irony emerges: we talk about big targets, but the\nbasic foundation is not yet fully solid. This is not merely a technical\nissue, but a reflection of how we design policies\u2014too quick to set\ntargets, but not deep enough in understanding conditions. Yet, the land\ncannot be deceived.<\/p>\n
If development is to succeed, it must learn to submit to reality.\nThat every region has its character, every land has its limits, and\nevery policy must be formulated not only with ambition, but with\nprecision.<\/p>\n
From food, the problem continues to the health and education\nsectors\u2014two fields that directly touch the quality of Indonesians. The\nBPK notes that health regulations are not yet fully harmonious,\ncomplete, and up-to-date, especially in supporting services in 3T and\nDTPK areas, including in the National Health Insurance scheme.\nMeanwhile, in the education sector, Dapodik is not yet fully able to\nprovide reliable data to support timely and targeted policy-making.<\/p>\n
Here we see a recurring pattern: policies often come with a uniform\napproach, while field realities are diverse. Remote areas, border\nregions, and archipelagic zones have different challenges. Yet the state\noften arrives with the same design. As a result, justice becomes\nuneven\u2014not because of misguided intentions, but because of designs that\nare not sensitive enough.<\/p>\n
Therefore, going forward, regulations cannot just be neat on paper.\nThey must be flexible to contexts, but still directed. Standards must be\nclear, but not impose uniformity. It is there that justice is truly\ndesigned, not merely stated.<\/p>\n
When we delve deeper into the energy, fertiliser, and SOE sectors,\nthe problem changes form\u2014from policy design to management discipline.\nThe BPK found that fuel reserves<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/we-are-busy-building-but-weak-in-uniting-1776909155", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }