Indonesia's DTSEN welfare data faces criticism over decile inaccuracies

The release of the National Single Social and Economic Data (DTSEN) has sparked widespread public criticism and political debate in Indonesia due to inaccuracies in its decile-based welfare classification. Citizens have reported significant discrepancies, with some individuals categorized in high-income deciles despite lacking basic assets like homes or vehicles. In the Special Region of Yogyakarta, residents previously in the lowest decile have reportedly jumped to deciles 6 through 10, disqualifying them from essential social assistance programs.

Economist Arief Anshory Yusuf noted that the threshold for decile 10 is approximately Rp2.8 million per person per month, which he argued does not accurately reflect the economic reality across all regions. He estimated that the classification error rate for the 10-decile system could reach 70%, suggesting that targeting the bottom 40% would be a more effective method for distributing subsidies.

Senator Ahmad Syauqi Soeratno criticized the government for implementing these policies without adequate socialization or planning, describing the sudden changes as “surprise” policies. He argued that if the decile rankings are merely relative measures rather than absolute indicators of economic status, they should not be used as the primary basis for critical public policy.