House of Representatives Commission X Urges Accurate Data Use for Post-Disaster Recovery in North Sumatra
INFO TEMPO - Member of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sabam Sinaga, stated that efforts to accelerate post-flood recovery in North Sumatra must be supported by accurate and verified data. According to him, with valid and non-overlapping disaster data, government intervention will be more targeted and effective.
“So, we really need to know the disaster data precisely. Thus, based on this data, intervention for recovery will be more targeted. Therefore, during our meeting with BPS, we conveyed that the data must be valid, with no overlaps, so that the handling will be complete according to the available data,” said Sabam while attending the Commission X Working Visit in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday, February 23, 2026.
This working visit was also attended by BPS North Sumatra. Sabam said that disaster data must be known accurately so that government intervention in the recovery process can be carried out in a targeted manner. He emphasised that the validity of the data is the key to determining disaster management policies.
According to him, the impact of the disaster is not only felt physically, but also has an impact on the economic condition of the community, especially families with school-aged children. Therefore, accurate data will help the government in determining the appropriate handling steps, including regarding housing, schools, and the number of affected children.
This is because Sabam admitted that he knows exactly that the economic condition of the community affected by the disaster is certainly difficult. This also disrupts the course of life, especially for parents whose children are in school, where the impact of the disaster may disrupt their economic activities.
“Therefore, with the availability of valid data, government intervention will be more targeted. This also includes housing, schools, and the number of affected children,” said this Democratic Party cadre.
He also highlighted the potential trauma experienced by teachers and child victims of the disaster. Therefore, accurate data collection on affected students is considered important so that appropriate psychological recovery approaches can be carried out.
“Because we also know that children affected by the disaster may experience trauma. So when data on affected school children is obtained, the approaches to change or heal their psychology will be much more targeted,” he said.
Therefore, Sabam emphasised the need for synchronisation and re-verification of data generated by various ministries and agencies to prevent overlaps. He believes that a single, verified data source is an important basis for providing information to the public and the government.
“Indeed, there must be data synchronisation. It could be that the data generated by other ministries/agencies needs to be re-verified. Because overlaps may occur, so data validation is needed. Therefore, a single data source is, in my opinion, data that must be verified, so that this is the correct data that will be conveyed to the public, including the government,” said Sabam.
Furthermore, as part of the DPR’s supervisory function, Sabam emphasised that all programs that use state finances must be monitored to ensure that the output is in accordance with the established performance indicators.
“And once again, we hope that this work will be part of our motto, including BPS, to produce accurate data. We must monitor all activities that are based on state finances, people’s money. Money that must have an output that is in accordance with the KPIs that are set,” he said.