Government Still Finalising Plan for 2026 Civil Service Recruitment

The Indonesian government is still finalising the recruitment scheme for the civil service apparatus (ASN) for 2026. Various options are currently under review, including staffing requirements across different institutions and adjustments to the country’s fiscal situation and national development priorities.

“We are still working on and formulating this,” said the Presidential Staff (Pras) following a Coordinating Meeting on Presidential Strategic Programme Implementation at the Defence Ministry’s office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

The government has acknowledged that nearly all ministries have submitted their workforce requirements in discussions regarding ASN recruitment. However, specific numbers cannot be announced yet as discussions remain fluid, particularly regarding determining priorities within the constraints of the state’s fiscal capacity.

“In general, almost all the ministers who attended have submitted their requirements. However, we cannot present specific figures in detail today because the discussion has developed further,” said Pras.

“Perhaps there are priorities that we must address first, because after all we must also consider our fiscal capacity. That is an example,” he added.

The Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform has asked all ministries and agencies, as well as regional governments, to conduct assessments of their staffing needs. The central government is also mapping existing civil servants to find common ground before establishing final recruitment numbers.

“However, there is indeed a need from every ministry, and the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform has also sent a letter to all ministries and regional governments to conduct such assessments. Although separately, we at the central level are also mapping all existing civil servants. So we are currently seeking common ground when discussing numbers,” he said.

Furthermore, the government is planning to involve the Defence Ministry in the education and training process for prospective civil servants when official recruitment opens. This is being considered because the Defence Ministry is seen as having adequate educational facilities that are distributed across various regions.

“So this is how it will work: when we decide to conduct recruitment, we will ask the Defence Ministry, being one of the ministries with quite a number of educational facilities spread across the territory, to conduct the education and training. That is why we held this meeting at the Defence Ministry,” he said.