Government Asserts that Raskin Rice is not for Even Distribution

03 June 2014

To ensure accurate targeting for the Subsidised Rice for Poor Households Programme (Raskin), the government allocated Raskin in 2014 specifically for targeted households holding a Social Assistance Card (KPS), or its replacement version. These comments were made by Dr. Safri Burhanuddin, Deputy Assistant for Social Affairs Compensation at the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare during a press conference on 3 June 2014 at the Millennium Siri in Jakarta. This event was facilitated by the Secretariat of the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K).

Safri emphasised that Raskin rice is only for poor and vulnerable households, with each household entitled to receive 15 kilograms (kg) per month. "Raskin rice should not be divided equally. The government uses the KPS card as a distribution mechanism for Raskin rice. KPS acts as a marker of membership to certain social assistance programmes among targeted beneficiary households (RTS-AM)," Safri said.

In 2013, the government distributed KPS cards to 15.5 million target households, equal to roughly 25 percent of those with the lowest levels of well-being, as based on the Unified Database (BDT). BDT is sourced using information from the 2011 Data Collection for Social Protection Programmes (PPLS). Recognising the possibility of changes in household socio-economic status or populations, the government allows for adjustments to be made to RTS-PM data through village council mechanisms, such as mudes and muskel.

Meanwhile, Sarwat Fardaniyah, Head of the Sub-Directorate for Identification and Analysis, Directorate of Rural Poverty Reduction at the Ministry of Social Affairs explained that the government ensures the quality of Raskin rice by purchasing medium quality rice from Bulog. The price of subsidised Raskin rice is set by the government – currently at Rp1,600/kg from distribution points --, with the government paying Bulog Rp8,330/kg. "If there is no rice of a suitable quality, Raskin recipients can exchange it at their local Bulog office," said Fardaniyah.

During the event, Sri Rahayu Kusumastuti, Head of TNP2K’s Cluster 1 Working Group, warned that dividing Raskin rice evenly among those who do not have a KPS or SKRTM for Replacement RTS is wrong because it violates the rules, impedes the objectives of the programme and does not help reduce poverty. The media briefing was also attended by Ahmed Mamun, Bulog’s Division Head for Jakarta, who described the technical processes behind Raskin rice distribution, particularly in Jakarta and its surrounding areas.

This press conference is part of a series of dissemination activities aimed at raising awareness and understanding among stakeholders and the general public about the rights of KPS holders to Raskin rice. The series consists of a radio campaign, media briefings in six targeted provincial capitals, as well as the distribution of posters and leaflets in more than 100 kabupaten / cities across Indonesia. All events were held in May and June 2014.