High Post-Eid Migration: Economic Distribution Key to Solution

Secretary of the Ministry of National Development Planning/BKKBN, Budi Setiyono, conveyed the importance of policies to distribute the flow of mudik more evenly in terms of timing. Flexibility in leave, travel incentives outside peak periods, and work schedule adjustments can help reduce congestion on specific days.

“The most fundamental aspect is accelerating the equalisation of economic development between regions. As long as job opportunities and quality of life remain concentrated in major cities, migration flows will continue, and mudik will remain a massive phenomenon on an increasingly large scale,” he said when contacted in Jakarta on Friday.

Budi stated that solutions to address the annual mudik flow, which requires extra handling every year, cannot be sought solely in toll roads or traffic engineering, but must start from changes in economic structure and national spatial planning.

“All such recommendations must serve as a reference for us in preparing the Roadmap for Population Development (PJPK) that is feasible, realistic, and achievable, both at the central and regional levels. We must truly begin calculating the balance of population numbers along with birth rates, death rates, growth, mobility, urbanisation, and density,” he explained.

“Ultimately, mudik will always be part of Indonesia’s social identity. This tradition does not need to be eliminated. However, without better management and targeted reforms, mudik risks transforming from an annual celebration into a systemic burden for the nation,” he added.

Budi also pointed out that mudik truly reflects the unresolved inter-regional development disparities. The large flow from cities to villages indicates that economic centres are still concentrated in certain areas, particularly major cities in Java.

“Meanwhile, the home regions of mudik participants have not yet been able to provide adequate job opportunities and living conditions, making migration to cities an almost inevitable choice. In this context, mudik is not merely a journey home. It is a ‘ritual’ that reveals the reality that millions of people must leave their places of origin to seek a livelihood elsewhere,” he said.

If this trend continues without significant intervention, Indonesia could face a far more serious situation in the coming years, as the number of mudik participants is projected to reach 160 to 180 million people by 2030.

“With the same mobility structure as now, this surge could push the transportation system to saturation point. The risk of gridlock or total paralysis on major routes is no longer just a hypothetical scenario, but a real possibility,” Budi stated.