Cak Imin Asks Middle Class to Be Patient, Government Prioritises Tackling Extreme Poverty

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar, known as Cak Imin, has asked the middle class to be patient because the government is currently focusing on eradicating poverty and extreme poverty.

Cak Imin made this statement when questioned by the media about the condition of the middle class while the government is focused on eliminating extreme poverty towards a zero per cent target in 2026.

“But basically, we are first addressing extreme poverty and poverty. Once this task is completed, we will move on to dealing with the vulnerable poor (middle class). Be patient,” said Cak Imin after the Ministerial Level Meeting (MLM) at Plaza BP Jamsostek, Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Monday (27/04/2026).

Cak Imin stated that the current government, which has been in office for one and a half years, needs time to address problems one by one.

“Of course, the government today has only been in place for a year and a half, there will come a time when we move to tackle the vulnerable poor. Be patient,” he said.

The chairman of the National Awakening Party promised that the government will not stand idly by and shirk its responsibility to resolve this issue.

Previously, Cak Imin revealed that extreme poverty has successfully decreased from 1.26 per cent in March 2024 to 0.78 per cent in September 2025.

“Thus, our extreme poor population has become 2.2 million people from the previous 3.56 million people. This is something we should be grateful for, while we still have a remaining burden of 2.2 million,” said Cak Imin when opening the MLM.

“More than 774 thousand families in the decile 1 group have not yet been reached by programmes, especially in areas such as Kulonprogo, Garut, Bogor, Cirebon, and Cianjur,” he said.

In addition, there are still 8.1 per cent of families that have not received assistance, as well as 60.2 per cent of decile 1 families that have only received one to two programmes.