Commission VIII Of The House Of Representatives Considers Online Judicial Victims Not As Well As Merta Can Get Social Assistance

The Ministry of Communication and Information conveyed a message via SMS Blast in an educational effort to prevent online gambling practices, Sunday (16/6/2024). (ANTARA/Livia Kristianti/am)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives Diah Pitaloka assessed that victims of online gambling cannot immediately or simply receive social assistance (bansos) from the government.

Diah said that the victims of online gambling who are entitled to receive social assistance are those whose identities are recorded in the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS).

"This means that the DTKS data has a gauge parameter, a poverty parameter. So, later it will be entered into the DTKS system whether it enters or not," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, June 17.

He conveyed this in response to the discourse of including victims of online gambling as beneficiaries of social assistance funds managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

"Please, victims (judionline) whether they enter or not, please enter the DTKS verification process. For example, falling poor requires help, then entering the poverty criteria is another, but not a downwards variable, judile determines entry to DTKS, you can't," he said.

Diah also assessed that instead of providing social assistance, the more important thing to do related to gambling is to overcome it.

"Because there are people who are deceived, yes, there are many when talking about criminals. So the important thing is that the online is overcome, the source is," he said.

Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy at the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta, Thursday (13/6), emphasized that the practice of gambling, both directly and online, could impoverish the community, so that these groups are now under the responsibility of the ministry they lead.

Muhadjir admitted that he had carried out many advocacy for victims of online gambling, even including them in DTKS as recipients of social assistance.

"Then those who experience psychosocial disorders, we ask the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) to step down to provide guidance and provide direction," said Muhadjir.

President Joko Widodo has also formed an Online Judi Eradication Task Force through Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 21 of 2024 concerning the Online Gambling Eradication Task Force which was issued in Jakarta, June 14, 2024.

The task force was led by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Hadi Tjahjanto accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy as Deputy Chair of the Task Force, Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie as Daily Chair of Prevention, and Director General of Information and Public Communication at the Ministry of Communication and Information Usman Kansong as Deputy Chair of the Prevention Daily.