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Jakarta identity card number deactivation policy meets with mixed response
The Jakarta city administration is moving to deactivate 92,000 identity card numbers (NIK) of Jakartans who have passed away or relocated to make way for city projects as an effort to update the civil registry for more accurate social aid distribution.
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Tourists pose for a photo in Jakarta's Kota Tua on April 16, 2024. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
T
he Jakarta administration’s move to deactivate more than 92,000 identity card numbers (NIK) owned by Jakarta residents has been met with a mixed response, with some observers lauding the push for more accurate aid disbursement, while others have questioned the urgency of the policy.
The Jakarta Population and Civil Registry Agency submitted the invalid NIK to the Home Ministry for deactivation last weekend. The agency submitted 81,000 NIK for residents who had died and 11,000 others whose homes have been developed into office buildings, high-rise apartments, green open spaces, stadiums or other projects across the city.
The decision to simultaneously deactivate the NIK of thousands of people provincewide is the first in Jakarta’s history, according to agency head Budi Awaludin.
In the next phase of the policy, the agency plans to deactivate more numbers of Jakarta residents currently residing outside their registered addresses.
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Among the reasons behind the policy is wrongly targeted social aid disbursement that is detrimental to the city budget.
Budi said he found several Jakartans who had already moved and lived in the neighboring city of Tangerang, Banten, for years, but still retained their previous addresses in Jakarta, costing the city administration, as it pays for a portion of the residents’ National Health Insurance (JKN) policies.
