Luhut Confident Indonesia's Economy Can Still Grow Despite Rising Poverty

National Economic Council (DEN) Chair Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is confident that national economic performance will continue to improve despite a rise in poverty figures. Luhut explained to journalists in Jakarta on Wednesday that the increase in poverty levels was likely influenced by price hikes. However, he noted that the impact of rising poverty on economic growth can still be mitigated through various strategies. “We must pay attention to efficiency. Efficiency is also the target of everything we are working on,” Luhut said. In addition to efficiency, Luhut stated that synergy to capitalise on the demographic bonus could support the pace of economic growth. He highlighted that various authorities need to work together to manage the capital of Indonesia’s demographic bonus in order to realise the Golden Indonesia 2045 vision. “We must all truly realise that the demographic bonus will end 10 years from now. So, if we do not work well, then 2045 will be difficult. But, if we are all united, I think there will be no problem,” he added. Furthermore, he said, Indonesia is developing government digital transformation (GovTech). This technology is believed to be able to help maintain national economic performance, including through eradicating corruption. “Moreover, with GovTech, this will certainly reduce corruption. And this technology is all made by Indonesia’s own children,” he remarked. Previously, President Prabowo Subianto highlighted a phenomenon he called an anomaly in the national economy, namely economic growth of 5 percent per year in recent years that has not been accompanied by an increase in public welfare. According to Prabowo, this condition signals that the results of economic growth are mostly enjoyed by certain groups. He committed to improving various policies so that economic growth can be felt more fairly and evenly by the community.