House of Representatives Demands BPS Resolve Decile Data Within Two Weeks

The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission X has highlighted issues regarding the decile distribution by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), which is deemed inaccurate relative to the actual conditions of the population, causing public unrest.

The Deputy Chairman of Commission X of the DPR RI, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, provided notes to BPS regarding the need to increase the accuracy and quality of the National Single Social and Economic Data (DTSEN), specifically addressing the decile issue.

“We are noting that BPS RI needs to continuously improve the accuracy and quality of the DTSEN as a basis for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of development policies, especially policies that use decile classification as the basis for determining targets and programme beneficiaries, including poverty alleviation and social protection programmes,” said Lalu during the opening presentation of a working meeting with BPS on Wednesday.

During the meeting, it was agreed that BPS will rectify the decile data that has triggered controversy among the public. These improvements include educational data related to the determination of scholarship recipients.

Furthermore, the DPR has set a maximum timeframe of two weeks to resolve the decile issues.

“The target for this decile improvement, as we stated, is that it must be completed within a maximum of two weeks when our citizens submit appeals regarding their decile through the channels prepared by BPS,” explained Lalu.

Additionally, the commission requested that BPS explain to the public the resources used to determine deciles. For citizens who submit appeals due to data discrepancies, he requested that BPS respond swiftly by implementing changes in a short period.

This urgency arises because prolonged changes in decile classification significantly impact the system for distributing aid to eligible citizens.

“Because many of our people’s needs are certainly linked to deciles, such as the assistance they should receive, but because of problematic decile data, they ultimately do not receive it. Therefore, this requires a rapid process; it should not be prolonged, and BPS has agreed,” he concluded.