MPR Deputy Speaker Urges Consistent, Proper Childcare from Early Age

Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat (Rerie) has stated that efforts to realise proper childcare and child protection standards in Indonesia must be consistently enhanced. This right aims to create a future generation of the nation that has character and is competitive.

“Efforts to protect children, who are the nation’s next generation, must begin with providing proper childcare from an early age. This step must be realised consistently with the support of all parties,” Rerie said in a written statement on Thursday (11/6/2026).

Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) indicates that 75% of families in Indonesia now use daycare services. Ironically, this demand is not matched by adequate governance. PPPA Minister Arifah Fauzi revealed that approximately 44% of daycare centres are unlicensed, 20% lack standard operating procedures (SOPs), and 66.7% of their managers remain uncertified.

This is despite the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recording in 2023 that 2.98% of Indonesian children still live in inadequate care.

According to Rerie, the current child protection system still leaves many gaps, ranging from inadequate childcare patterns and weak supervision to minimal integrated handling of victims. She also opined that strengthening prevention, protection, and law enforcement must occur simultaneously. “There must be no more loopholes for systemic violence against children,” Lestari stated.

The senior official from the NasDem Party urged a comprehensive evaluation of every institution related to childcare and child protection. “A healthy, safe, and comfortable environment for children’s growth and development must be realised for the sake of a better and more competitive future generation of the nation,” Rerie concluded.