Gus Ipul translates President Prabowo's directives into Social Affairs Ministry work programmes

The President reminded us that there is still a major task we must resolve, namely inequality. Therefore, all our programmes must be genuinely directed towards addressing this issue, said Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf, urging the Ministry of Social Affairs to strengthen programme planning with a more integrated approach, based on verified data, and oriented towards solving social inequality in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s directives. The statement was made by Gus Ipul, as the minister is familiarly known, while chairing a service meeting at the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) office. According to him, all of the President’s directives need to be translated into concrete actions within the ministry. Gus Ipul stated that national development is a continuous process from one administration to the next. He noted that the constitutional mandate, particularly Article 33 and Article 34 of the 1945 Constitution, serves as the foundation for carrying out the ministry’s duties. The management of state resources must ultimately lead to the protection and improvement of the welfare of the poor and abandoned children. In this context, the ‘Sekolah Rakyat’ (People’s Schools) programme becomes an important instrument to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through education. The data must be correct, social assistance must be well-targeted, and the People’s Schools are part of the effort to empower underprivileged families, the Minister said. Gus Ipul explained that the ministry’s services must not stop at a single type of intervention. Every beneficiary must receive interconnected services, ranging from data collection, social protection and security, social rehabilitation, to social empowerment according to their respective needs. He therefore requested that all work units no longer operate in isolation, but instead plan programmes together so that each service complements the others. Kemensos is like a single machine. No part should run on its own. Directors and work units must communicate with each other and plan programmes together so that services to the community become sharper, he said. Gus Ipul also stressed the importance of the role of the Social Welfare Data and Information Centre (Pusdatin) as the data custodian for all ministry programmes. He stated that all interventions must use verified and updated data so that programme implementation is more accurately targeted. The focal point is Pusdatin. All programmes must be based on verified data. After that, they are operationalised into strategic programmes, whether social rehabilitation or social empowerment, said Minister Saifullah Yusuf.