Gus Ipul Urges Denpasar Mayor to Retract Statement on BPJS Deactivation

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) demanded that Denpasar Mayor I Gusti Ngurah Jaya Negara retract his statement deemed misleading to the public regarding the deactivation of Health Insurance Premium Assistance Recipients (PBI). In a media interview, the Denpasar Mayor claimed the deactivation of BPJS Health PBI recipients was the result of a presidential instruction through the Ministry of Social Affairs to deactivate PBI recipients in Deciles 6 through 10.

Gus Ipul stressed that the statement had created public confusion because it was far from the facts. “That statement is misleading and has truly confused the public, because what was conveyed is far from the facts. It makes it seem as though the President instructed the deactivation of PBI. This is truly misleading,” Gus Ipul said after coordinating on PBI reporting with the Indonesian Consumers Foundation on Friday (2/13).

Gus Ipul stated that there was no instruction from President Prabowo Subianto as claimed in the Denpasar Mayor’s statement. On that basis, Gus Ipul demanded the statement be immediately retracted and accompanied by a public apology.

“I am asking the Denpasar Mayor to retract his statement and apologize. This must not be allowed to be perceived as the truth,” he said.

Gus Ipul also warned that the circulating misinformation could potentially constitute slander and worsen the spread of hoaxes. “This could become slander and spread hoaxes. Because there was no instruction from the President as stated by the Denpasar Mayor,” he said.

On the other hand, Gus Ipul called on all regional governments and stakeholders to focus on more substantive measures — namely, improving data so that social protection policies are properly targeted.

“I invite everyone — let us fix our data. Central government, regional governments, and ministries and agencies must work together to improve the DTSEN data,” he said.

Furthermore, Gus Ipul said the government is committed to ensuring social protection services run on accurate data so as not to create misunderstandings among the public.

The Denpasar Mayor had previously revealed that there was a presidential instruction through the Ministry of Social Affairs to deactivate BPJS Health PBI patients in Deciles 6 through 10. “There is indeed a presidential instruction through the Ministry of Social Affairs to deactivate BPJS Health recipients in Deciles 6 through 10. Denpasar happens to be affected, with 24,401 people,” Jaya Negara said in Denpasar.

The context of the Denpasar Mayor’s statement was the city government’s policy to reactivate the 24,401 Decile 6 through 10 recipients who had previously been deactivated. There has been no detailed explanation from the Denpasar Mayor regarding his claim that the BPJS Health deactivation originated from a presidential instruction.