Statistics Bill: Baleg Proposes Formation of a New Institution

The Legislative Body (“Baleg”) of the Indonesian House of Representatives (“DPR RI”) is preparing amendments to Law No. 16 of 1997 on Statistics (“Law 16/1997”).

According to Baleg Deputy Chairman Iman Sukri, the Draft Statistics Bill (“Statistics Bill”) will help the government consolidate previously duplicated data into a single dataset. Additionally, the Bill aims to enhance the national data management framework.

“This will greatly help our government prevent issues of duplicate data across ministries,” he stated.

Regarding its provisions, DPR RI Expert Staff Representative Rifma Ghulam explained that the Bill contains ten key regulations, including the National Statistics System, Implementation of Statistics, Official State Statistics, the Institutional Framework for the National Data and Statistics Agency and the National Data and Statistics Council, Statistical Human Resources, Cooperation, Financing, Public Participation, Administrative Sanctions, and Criminal Provisions.

The establishment of the National Data and Statistics Agency and the National Data and Statistics Council, according to Rhima, is necessary due to the expanded scope and authority under this Bill.

“Law 16/1997 only recognized a single institution, BPS, for statistical matters. However, this Draft Bill introduces the National Data and Statistics Agency and its oversight body, the National Data and Statistics Council,” Rhima explained.