Zero Per Cent Extreme Poverty Target, Cak Imin Says Social Assistance Is Only a Temporary Cushion

Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, or Cak Imin, wants Indonesians to move up a notch and escape poverty. Therefore, the government’s current focus is on empowering communities to eradicate poverty. ‘If we want the people to continue moving up a notch and dignified, then community empowerment is the key,’ said Cak Imin during the event on the Role of Local Government in Optimizing the Implementation of Poverty Alleviation and Extreme Poverty Eradication held at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (4/3/2026).

One of the measures is to strengthen community empowerment and treat social assistance (bansos) as only a temporary cushion. ‘The government is shifting its policy paradigm, which until now has been oriented toward social protection, toward community empowerment. Social assistance is only a temporary cushion, social security will become a safety net,’ said Cak Imin.

The zero per cent target is aimed to be achieved in 2026, which he described as an ambitious government target. ‘The government has set an ambitious and measurable target, namely extreme poverty at 0 percent by 2026. Along with that, we are optimistic and confident that national poverty will fall to as low as 5 percent by 2029,’ said Cak Imin.

Therefore, he stressed that empowerment is one of the keys to raising the social status and dignity of Indonesians. ‘With this paradigm, the people will not only receive aid; we push them to become actors in development,’ said the Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

President Prabowo Subianto previously emphasised his commitment to eradicating extreme poverty in Indonesia within four years. The target was conveyed by Prabowo in a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026, in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday (22/1/2026). ‘I am determined that in the next four years we will eradicate extreme poverty, and we will reduce poverty overall. That is my mission in life,’ Prabowo said in his address, on Thursday.

Therefore, his administration has introduced the Sekolah Rakyat programme aimed specifically at children from poor families. ‘To date, we have built 166 boarding schools for the extremely poor. This may be unusual, as boarding schools are typically for children from affluent families. Now, I am building boarding schools for the poorest,’ Prabowo said.