DPR Legislative Body: Single Data Bill Aims to Ensure State Documents Are More Than Just Archives

The Legislative Body (Baleg) of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) held a working meeting with the government to discuss the Single Data Indonesia Bill. The Deputy Chairman of Baleg DPR, Sturman Panjaitan, stated that this Bill is designed to ensure that state documents do not merely end up as piles of unorganised records.

The meeting took place in the Baleg DPR RI room, Parliament Complex, Senat, Jakarta, on Wednesday (23/09/2026). Sturman initially explained that there are six fundamental issues within national data governance.

“There are at least six fundamental problems that continue to recur,” said Sturman.

First, according to Sturman, there is sectoral ego within each institution or ministry, leading to data being created using individual standards. Second, there is an overlap of authority, resulting in the same data being produced repeatedly.

“As a result, the state does not possess a single source of truth for all realities,” he noted.

Furthermore, Sturman mentioned that unsynchronised data causes government assistance to miss its intended targets. “The fourth issue is the waste of state finances. Hundreds of information systems are built independently and are not interconnected, causing state investment to multiply without achieving integration,” he said.

He noted that further issues include the imbalance of central roles, where local governments lack the authority to modify or improve data. The final problem is the inadequate legal foundation, which leaves data governance scattered.

“This series of problems is not merely a matter of technical administration. It is a matter of justice,” he stated.

Consequently, Sturman mentioned that the Single Data Bill is designed to provide a legal basis for data management in Indonesia. With these regulations, it is hoped that state data will not merely become a pile of archives.

“With this law, the data held by the state will no longer stop as a pile of archives, but rather become the basis for effective planning and implementation of public policy, bringing real benefits to the community,” he said.

The Single Data Indonesia Bill itself has been agreed upon as a DPR initiative. This agreement was reached during the Plenary Session on Tuesday (21/07).