On Child Suicides, Cak Imin: The Core Problem Is Structural Poverty

JAKARTA—Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar has highlighted structural poverty as the root cause of children ending their lives, describing the tragedy as a profound reflection of the social reality in which such dark events can occur due to economic factors.

According to Cak Imin, as he is affectionately known, the main problem is structural poverty and social cohesion, which the government continues to work to address together. “The core issue is structural poverty and social cohesion that we continue to strive to tackle together, whilst we resolve our main problems, namely poverty and other structural issues,” said Cak Imin during a psychosocial resilience dialogue at the University of Indonesia’s campus in Central Jakarta on Friday (27 February 2026).

He expressed deep shock upon hearing of recent cases of children taking their own lives. The chairman of the National Awakening Party emphasised that the government will not allow such suicide cases resulting from mental health problems to continue occurring.

He cited the Ministry of Health’s records indicating that 28 million Indonesians suffer from mental health problems as an alarming iceberg phenomenon. “At any time, (mental health disorders) could increase in number and severity. The reality is that the triggers for mental health disorders are quite complex and multidimensional,” he said.