Preventing Downward Social Mobility: The Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment Empowers the Middle Class

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment (Kemenko PM) is empowering the middle-class through the SMK Go Global programme and the empowerment of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure they do not drop a class.

‘For workers, by securing jobs abroad, we will help through the SMK Go Global programme,’ said Leontinus Alpha Edison, Deputy for Community Economic Empowerment and Protection of Migrant Workers at Kemenko PM, at a coordination meeting titled ‘The Role of Local Governments in Optimising the Implementation of Poverty Alleviation and Extreme Poverty Eradication’ in Jakarta, on Wednesday.

‘If someone needs raw materials, we help. If someone needs production machines, we help with business matching with their vendors. If someone needs financing, we train them and do business matching with various financing institutions. There is Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), there is PIP, and there are non-bank options,’ Leontinus Alpha Edison said.

He said these empowerment efforts must be sustainable and require multi-stakeholder commitment in the long term.

‘Indeed it is a long-term endeavour and its implementation should not be interrupted. The hope is that slowly, but surely, our people can become productive, empowered, and self-reliant,’ he added.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar said that empowering the middle class is important so they do not slide down.

‘Poverty policy is not enough to focus only on helping the poor; we must continue to move to prevent vulnerable groups and the middle class from falling,’ said the Coordinating Minister.

This effort is important given that the structure of public welfare is not yet fully robust in facing economic pressures.

‘The rising cost of living, uncertainty in the job market, and increasing costs of education and health will continue to threaten the resilience of our middle class,’ Muhaimin Iskandar said.

He noted that this phenomenon shows that economic shocks can easily push vulnerable groups into poverty.