High Decile Does Not Automatically Remove Social Assistance Recipients, Here's the Explanation
Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul, has addressed the controversy surrounding changes in decile rankings within the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN), which has drawn complaints from members of the public.
According to Gus Ipul, the decile changes were not caused by data errors from the Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga)/BKKBN, but rather are part of a periodic national data consolidation and updating process carried out by Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
“There is nothing wrong with the data from BKKBN or the Ministry of Population and Family Development. Nothing at all. The data is part of the national data consolidation,” Gus Ipul said in a written statement, quoted on Monday (7/9/2026).
He explained that, in accordance with Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 4 of 2025, BPS serves as the sole manager of DTSEN. In this process, various data from ministries, agencies, and regional governments are collected, verified, validated, and then ranked into deciles 1 through 10 based on the socio-economic conditions of the population.
According to Gus Ipul, changes in decile positions are to be expected because population data and the economic conditions of society are highly dynamic.
“This data is very dynamic. Every day there are births, deaths, people moving residence, marriages, economic conditions improving, and some declining. That is why the updating process must be carried out continuously,” he said.
In addition to data from the Ministry of Social Affairs and BKKBN, the decile ranking also utilises various other data sources, such as motor vehicle data and land data from the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN).
The integration of these various data sources is intended to produce a more accurate picture of the socio-economic conditions of the population.
Gus Ipul acknowledged that the consolidation process has still revealed significant jumps or changes in decile rankings for some members of the public. However, he said these conditions are being continuously improved through ongoing data updates.
“If there are currently some jumps, these are being corrected and updated. Hopefully, within a relatively short time, the ranking will better match the established criteria,” he said.
The statement also responds to various public complaints from people who claim their decile positions changed drastically after the DTSEN update.
Gus Ipul also corrected the assumption that people recorded in a high decile are automatically removed from the list of social assistance (bansos) recipients.
According to him, the determination of social assistance recipients is carried out periodically every three months, taking into account the results of data updates and verification from various parties, including regional governments.
“If a decile is found to be inaccurate, it does not mean the social assistance is immediately cut off. There is still an appeal period and an update period for the next distribution,” he said.
He stressed that information suggesting residents temporarily recorded in decile 10 automatically lose their social assistance is inaccurate.
To accommodate data corrections, the Ministry of Social Affairs provides various complaint and update channels, one of which is through the Cek Bansos application. Through this application, the public can view their decile position, submit proposals, or file appeals.
In addition, regional governments can also update data through the Next Generation Social Welfare Information System (SIKS-NG), which is used by operators at the village, sub-district, and social service levels.
“Every village and sub-district has a data operator. It is through these operators that update proposals are forwarded for processing,” Gus Ipul said.
According to him, public participation is an important factor in making DTSEN data more accurate and ensuring that social assistance distribution is better targeted.