Observer: Dividing Presidential Advisory Council’s Work Could Improve Decision-Making

Malang, East Java (ANTARA) – Andhyka Muttaqin, a policy and political analyst at the University of Brawijaya, said the division of responsibilities adopted by the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres) could improve the quality of decisions made by President Prabowo Subianto when determining strategic policies.

“Wantimpres has the potential to help improve the quality of presidential decision-making through cross-sector analysis, risk identification and alternative solutions to problems. The division of advisory responsibilities also makes the advice clearer,” Andhyka said in Malang, East Java, on Monday.

Wantimpres has established three areas of work: politics, law and security; social welfare; and economics and finance.

Andhyka said law enforcement, the professionalism of officials, the quality of democracy and national security stability should all be discussed comprehensively under the politics, law and security portfolio.

“This is to ensure that stability goes hand in hand with justice,” he said.

He added that Wantimpres should prioritise efforts to strengthen poverty reduction, ensure social assistance reaches the right recipients, promote equal access to education and healthcare, and create employment opportunities under its social welfare portfolio.

Social welfare, he said, should not be measured solely by the size of the budget or the number of programmes implemented, but by their impact on people’s lives.

In the economics and finance portfolio, he said, the availability of jobs, support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), increased productive investment, food price stability and effective state spending were issues that needed to be discussed and addressed through appropriate solutions.

Economic growth, he added, must be able to raise people’s incomes and reduce inequality.

He also urged Wantimpres to turn these issues into concrete recommendations for the president, based on data and evidence from the field. The council should also take into account the authority of relevant ministries, budget requirements, implementation risks and the impact on the public.

“The three areas must not work in isolation, because public issues are interconnected. Coordination across fields is therefore needed to ensure Wantimpres’s recommendations do not remain siloed,” he said.