TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, is pushing back against public and economic analysts' doubts about Indonesia's second-quarter economic growth of 5.12%. Amalia asserted that the BPS's data is far more comprehensive than what outside analysts use.
"We guarantee the 5.12% figure. We have far more comprehensive data," she said during a memorandum of understanding signing with the Minister of Public Housing and Settlement and the Injourney Group at Sarinah Building, Jakarta, on Thursday, August 14, 2025.
Amalia explained that BPS's economic growth calculations utilize 1,508 variables, whereas market analysts typically only use around 20. "We have checked, and analysts in the market usually only use 20 variables," she said.
She added that with such a disparity in the number of variables, the public could determine which calculation is more accurate. "20 variables compared to our 1,508; certainly, we can determine which is more accurate," Amalia affirmed.
Celios Calls for UN Audit
This defense follows a formal request by the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) for the United Nations statistical agency to audit BPS's second-quarter 2025 data. Celios sent a request for investigation to the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the United Nations Statistical Commission.
Celios' Executive Director, Bhima Yudhistira, explained that the goal is to maintain the credibility of BPS data, which is widely used for research by academic institutions, banking analysts, businesses, and the general public.
"The letter sent to the United Nations includes a request to review the second quarter of 2025 economic growth data of 5.12% year-on-year," Bhima said in a statement on Friday.
Bhima pointed out that Celios had re-examined BPS's reported indicators, such as manufacturing industry data, which BPS claimed grew by 5.68% in the second quarter of 2025. However, he noted that during the same period, manufacturing activity, as measured by the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), experienced a contraction.
He also highlighted that the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP was low at 18.67%, compared to 19.25% in the first quarter of 2025, which he argued indicates ongoing deindustrialization.
Additionally, mass layoffs and rising cost burdens have affected labor-intensive industries. "So, on what basis can the manufacturing industry grow by 5.68% year-on-year? Asynchronous data certainly needs to be answered with transparency," Bhima concluded.
Government and Presidential Palace Defend Data
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, has denied any data manipulation. "There is no data manipulation," Airlangga told reporters at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
The Presidential Palace also weighed in, with Head of the Presidential Communication Office (PCO), Hasan Nasbi, suggesting that the economists doubting the 5.12% figure had negative assumptions, viewing positive economic growth unfavorably due to a specific framing or perception.
"So our economic growth is positive, but some may view it in a negative way," Hasan said at his office in Central Jakarta on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
Hasan assured the public of the government's honesty in reporting economic data. He noted that the government would not hesitate to announce economic contraction if it occurred.
He cited President Prabowo Subianto's tenure, where BPS under his leadership reported a growth of 5.02% in the fourth quarter of 2024, followed by a decrease to 4.87% in the first quarter of 2025. "A decrease, right? The decrease was announced by the same government under the same BPS. If it's a decrease, we say it's a decrease," he said.
Ilona Estherina and Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to the report.
Editor's Choice: INDEF Doubts Indonesia Will Hit 5% Economic Growth Target
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
