5 - Public Policy Towards the Elderly in Indonesia

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In the past, old age policy has not been a major priority for the Indonesian Government, due to the fact that the number of elderly Indonesians (those who are 60 years of age or older) only formed a small percentage of Indonesia's population. The government focused most of its priorities on younger Indonesians of working age in order to assist them in gaining employment. Responsibility for the care of the elderly largely fell to their families, since it was assumed that productive citizens would take care of their aged and infirm parents. Very few government resources were allocated to assist elderly Indonesians, especially those who are poor and/or have no immediate family members to assist them.

Since the late 1990s however, changes have begun to occur in the way the Indonesian Government views the problem of ageing and old age security. This is due to the fact that demographic projections have predicted that the number of elderly Indonesians will increase significantly in the next few decades. In addition, due to the changes in family structure and economic conditions, it becomes increasingly difficult for families to care for elderly relatives by themselves, leaving many elderly Indonesians vulnerable to poverty or at risk of falling below the poverty line.

Thus, ageing increasingly becomes a policy issue that needs to be addressed by the government. Several new laws were passed which aim to ensure that elderly Indonesians receive adequate support for their livelihood in their old age. Questions remain, however, on whether the approaches undertaken by this legislation are the best way to address the ageing problem in Indonesia and its policy implications.

This chapter will describe the problem of ageing in Indonesia and the development of ageing policy in the country, looking at both past and current legislation. Part I will describe the demographic trends on ageing in Indonesia, while Part II will outline their possible policy implications. Part III will describe current developments in Indonesia's ageing policy, primarily by looking at past and current legislation enacted by the Indonesian Government related to ageing.