Lestari Moerdijat Urges Government and Private Sector to Comply with Disability Employment Quotas

The implementation of the obligation to employ people with disabilities in private companies and government institutions, as mandated by law, remains far from expectations. ‘There is a wide gap between the existing regulations and the implementation on the ground regarding the realisation of the obligation to employ people with disabilities. Concrete steps and cross-sector collaboration are needed to realise it,’ said Lestari Moerdijat, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), in a written statement on Tuesday (23/6). The Ministry of Social Affairs has affirmed its commitment as a pioneer in implementing the mandatory quota for workers with disabilities, allocating 2% of its total employees to this group. Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf has even called on all ministries, institutions, and state-owned enterprises (BUMN) to meet this quota. According to Moerdijat, Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities explicitly mandates a quota: central and regional governments, as well as state and regionally owned enterprises, must employ persons with disabilities for at least 2% of their total workforce, while private companies are required to employ at least 1%. Moerdijat, who is also a member of Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), noted several obstacles causing the low absorption of workers with disabilities. These include limited job access, deep-rooted social stigma, a lack of vocational training, and the generally low educational attainment among persons with disabilities. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reveals that only 2.8% of the 17.9 million people with disabilities in Indonesia have attained a higher education degree. ‘This BPS data illustrates the serious challenge facing the business world, which requires skilled labour,’ she explained. Moerdijat emphasised that a series of steps must be taken immediately to realise the mandate of the Disability Law. These include strengthening regulations and imposing strict sanctions, providing incentives for compliant companies and institutions, offering training and mentoring for employers, and fostering strong collaboration between the education, business, government, and community sectors to increase the participation of persons with disabilities in the development process. She noted that disability issues are now a focus of the national legislative agenda, with the National Commission on Disabilities recording that 38 out of 67 priority bills in the 2026 National Legislation Programme relate to disability issues. ‘The fulfilment of the rights of persons with disabilities in all aspects of social life must be supported by the full commitment of all relevant parties, as it is mandated by law and the constitution,’ Moerdijat concluded.