(Jakarta, 27th) The recent floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have exposed coordination failures among authorities. The Indonesian Parliament is currently drafting a bill to establish a new cabinet department—the Ministry of Disaster Management—to address this issue.
According to The Jakarta Globe, Husni, a member of parliament from the ruling Great Indonesia Movement Party, said that under the draft bill, the existing National Disaster Mitigation Agency would be upgraded to an official cabinet-level department.
Husni said that poor coordination between cabinet departments has resulted in delays in the distribution of relief supplies, reduced efficiency, and that some aid has even failed to reach its intended recipients.
He said: "Relief supplies may have already been dispatched, but did they really reach the people in need? The answer is no. Even if the military and police departments are involved, if coordination is lacking, each agency ends up doing its own thing."
He said: "Relief supplies may have already been dispatched, but did they really reach the people in need? The answer is no. Even if the military and police departments are involved, if coordination is lacking, each agency ends up doing its own thing."
Husni pointed out that a major challenge in disaster management is the lack of a unified command structure, making it impossible to integrate the functions of multiple cabinet departments and agencies. Although the National Disaster Mitigation Agency assumes significant responsibilities, it is a non-ministerial institution, limiting its ability to coordinate within the government. Upgrading the National Disaster Mitigation Agency to a cabinet department would help strengthen its command function and clarify the coordination mechanism for responding to national disasters.
At the end of November, Sumatra was hit by severe floods and landslides. According to statistics from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, the flood has claimed 1,129 lives so far, with more than 170 people still missing.
The floods and landslides caused large-scale destruction, and recently, disaster victims in northern Sumatra celebrated Christmas amid the ruins. Dozens of worshippers gathered on Thursday (December 25) at a church in South Tapanuli, Sumatra, for the first Christmas mass since the disaster, praying for a "new beginning" amidst the rubble.
At the end of November, Sumatra was hit by severe floods and landslides. According to statistics from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, the flood has claimed 1,129 lives so far, with more than 170 people still missing.
The floods and landslides caused large-scale destruction, and recently, disaster victims in northern Sumatra celebrated Christmas amid the ruins. Dozens of worshippers gathered on Thursday (December 25) at a church in South Tapanuli, Sumatra, for the first Christmas mass since the disaster, praying for a "new beginning" amidst the rubble.
The church's pastor, Jansen, said that Christmas mass is usually held at night, but since the weather forecast predicted rain in the evening, the church decided to move the mass to the afternoon.
Although four weeks have passed, many local believers are still living in temporary shelters. Krismantho, a believer who lost his home in the disaster, said that despite the widespread destruction and personal loss caused by the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.