Lestari Moerdijat: Decent Childcare Standards Must Be Consistently Realised

Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat has stressed that efforts to achieve decent standards of childcare and child protection in Indonesia must be consistently improved. This is crucial to mould a generation of national successors with strong character and high competitiveness in the future. “Child protection efforts for the nation’s future generation must begin with providing proper parenting patterns from an early age. These steps must be realised consistently with the support of all parties,” Lestari stated in a written release on Thursday (11/6). Lestari, familiarly known as Rerie, highlighted significant challenges in the current caregiving landscape. According to data from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), 75% of families in Indonesia now rely on daycare services or child minding centres. However, this high demand has not been matched with adequate governance. PPPA Minister Arifah Fauzi disclosed the alarming fact that around 44% of daycare centres still lack official permits, 20% lack Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and 66.7% of their managers remain uncertified. This condition is exacerbated by 2023 Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data recording that 2.98% of Indonesian children still live in inadequate care environments. Rerie assessed that the current child protection system still has many gaps, ranging from weak supervision to a lack of integrated victim handling. The legislator from the NasDem Party argued that strengthening aspects of prevention, protection, and law enforcement must go hand in hand. She asserted that there must no longer be any room for systematic practices of violence against children in any institution. As a Member of House Commission X, Rerie urged a comprehensive evaluation of every institution involved in childcare and protection. She believes creating a healthy, safe, and comfortable environment is an absolute requirement for optimal child growth and development. “A healthy, safe, and comfortable environment for child development must be realised for a better and more competitive future generation,” she concluded.