Whether a cabinet of 34 ministers or 40 ministers, don’t “breed” the poor, so Gen Z won’t “die of civilization”

By: Eko B. Supriyanto, Editor-in-Chief of Infobank Media Group

Jakarta – Indonesia’s Economy does not seem to depend on the number of ministers in the cabinet. Whatever the situation, Indonesia’s economy is fine. The number of fat cabinets will increase waste and opportunities for corruption.

According to reports, the Prabowo-Gibran government will form a cabinet with 40 ministers, from the previous (Jokowi-Amin government) 34 ministers. The previous Jokowi-Kalla government also formed a cabinet with the same number of ministers: 4 coordinating ministers and 30 ministers. Meanwhile, the SBY-Kalla regime had 3 coordinating ministers and 31 ministers. Not much change over the past 20 years.

The composition of the cabinet has not yet been announced, but a sharp tug-of-war, pro and con, has occurred in the discourse on the preparation of this cabinet. The news about the 40 cabinet members is actually uncertain, even from official sources. According to a number of observers, the plan to add the cabinet is to accommodate the coalition that joined to win Prabowo-Gibran. Not only the parties that qualified for Senayan, but also the small parties. Including parties that were previously outside the Prabowo-Gibran winning coalition.

However, whether or not there is a cabinet with 40 ministers, Indonesia’s economic growth is still doing well. From year to year , no quality, because it is driven by public consumption and state spending supported by government debt. During the COVID-19 era, the economy continued to grow. Without COVID-19, it also grew. Relatively the same. Even when there was an election, with a growth of 5.11 percent. When there’s no elections (economic) also grew, 5.03 percent. It seems that, under any conditions, Indonesia’s economic growth is not of high quality. Although its growth is higher than that of a number of countries, because Indonesia’s economic growth is not good as it seems, so it still cannot accommodate labor.

The Kompas report states that Gen Z (born 1997-2012) is finding it increasingly difficult to find work in the formal sector. Over the past 15 years, labor absorption in the formal sector has continued to decrease. Generation Z is finding it more difficult to find work in the informal sector compared to previous generations. In Jokowi’s second regime, jobs seem to be getting tighter.

If we look at the data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). During the 2009-2014 period, labor absorption in the formal sector was 15.6 million people. The number decreased to 8.5 million people in the 2014-2019 period and fell sharply in the 2019-2024 period to 2 million people. Not only that, the waiting time for work is also getting longer. In short, after graduating from school or college, you don’t immediately get a job, but you still wait relatively long.

Infrastructure development, the increasing amount of debt (Rp8,000 trillion), has also not been able to encourage quality economic growth. The promise of 7 percent economic growth has never been proven. The question is, with unemployment and poverty data that has not moved significantly, it turns out that the free meal program, the distribution of basic necessities, is very effective in winning the presidential election.

The Prabowo-Gibran government must change its development strategy. If it still uses Jokowi’s method of appearing to do good to the people with food distribution programs, it will not change the number of employment. The free meal program is indeed effective in attracting the poor and unemployed to win the presidential election. However, a free lunch program with a fiscal value of Rp450 trillion will be a heavy fiscal burden.

It would be better if this program of raising the poor is no longer used as a mainstay in the contestation arena in this democratic party. Choose a program that does not create a madesu (dark future) for Gen Z. Just focus on higher education programs, for example, and attract foreign investors to build factories in Indonesia. You can also reduce the leakage rate of the state budget, which Prabowo said in his campaign was 25 percent. It needs to be lowered.

If we look at the growth data over the past 15 years, such as economic growth, the number of jobs, and unemployment, Indonesia 2045 will not produce a golden generation. Instead, there will be a generation of anxiety. It is difficult to find a job. Not even buying a house, it is difficult to pay for a motorcycle installment. Because they have been blacklisted by financial institutions. Because almost 2 million Gen Z are included in the “civil death” group who will not be able to access financial institutions. Banks are also nervous about the data of young people who are blacklisted and have low quality of work.

The number of ministers, whether 34, 40, or more, does not matter as long as it is not for political sharing, but to improve the quality of government in building the morals, minds, and competencies of the nation’s children. Do not build a beggar mentality that only waits for social assistance, which is always used by the regime to breed poor people to win presidential elections. Enough is enough. Let’s build Indonesian people with high competence and quality economic growth.(*)