T

he capital’s outdated data on its poor senior citizens and lack of budget are the main obstacles in the distribution of Jakarta Elderly Cards (KLJ), with which elderly people can receive Rp 600,000 (US$43) in financial aid per month.

The program, initiated by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, was launched in May.

This year, the Jakarta administration has only handed over cards to 14,520 people aged above 60 in need of financial aid.

Meanwhile, about 17,500 poor elderly people reside in Jakarta, according to Social Affairs Ministry data in 2015.

The head of a community unit (RW) in Cikini Kramat, Menteng, Irawan Prasetio, said only 14 senior citizens in his area had received a KLJ.

“There are around 200 poor old people in the kampung who really need financial assistance. I have given their data to the subdistrict office, but to date we have yet to receive a response from them,” Irawan said.

Irawan added that most of the senior citizens had children, who also did not have the financial means to support their parents. Therefore, they really needed help from the administration, Irawan said.

Irwan Kurniadi, an RW head in Cipinang Melayu subdistrict, East Jakarta, discussed a similar situation in his area, where 14 of about 70 older people had been included on the list to receive a KLJ.

However, only two people had received a KLJ, Irwan said.

“I don’t understand, what’s the problem with KLJ? Why have only two people received aid in this area?” Irwan said.

The city administration allocated Rp 104.5 billion for the program this year.

The social security section head at the Jakarta Social Affairs Agency, Asta Devin, said the number of KLJ to be allocated was limited because of the city’s ability to fund the program.

She went on to say that the agency had prioritized providing aid to residents that the ministry had accounted for in 2015.

The data was only verified by the agency last year, she said.

If elderly people not included on the listed wanted to request a KLJ, they were required to register with the Jakarta one-stop integrated service (PTSP) through the Independent Data Update Mechanism (MPM), Asta said.

The requirements were stipulated in Home Ministerial Regulation No. 13/2018 on grants and social aid allocated from the regional’s budget, she said.

“Based on the regulation, elderly people or their families should be proactive and register for the program,” Asta said.

Irawan said many elderly people found it difficult to apply for the program in-person.

Most of them are weak, so it is hard for them to deal with such things, he added.

A city councillor from the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Gembong Warsono, said the city administration should be proactive in gathering the data of the poor elderly in the city.

“The city administration should gather the data by visiting the residents. Only by doing so can the program be effective and bring benefits to senior citizens,” he said.

Gembong went on to encourage the city administration to allocate more funds for the program in the 2019 budget.

Trisakti University public policy expert Trubus Rahadiansyah said Anies’ policy to give financial aid to the elderly should be appreciated.

However, the implementation of the program should be monitored to prevent corruption. The head of districts and subdistricts should work together with neighborhood and community heads to gather the data of residents, he added.

Meanwhile, the city administration plans to distribute KLJs to 40,000 people in 2019 and 112,000 people in 2022.