MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, SEMARANG – Vice Minister of Social Affairs Agus Jabo Priyono emphasized the need for joint efforts to tackle an issue that around 24 million Indonesians live in poverty, including over 3 million in extreme poverty. He said Muhammadiyah, through its universities, plays a vital role in helping the government reduce poverty in Indonesia.
Speaking in a public lecture at Universitas Muhammadiyah Semarang (UNIMUS) on May 8, Agus explained that the government cannot fight poverty alone. Collaboration with universities, including Muhammadiyah-’Aisyiyah higher education institutions, is essential to create effective community empowerment programs.
“The government can’t do this on its own. We really need universities as objective and critical partners to help build empowerment models that address the real problems,” he said.
Citing data from the National Socio-Economic Single Database (DTSEN), Agus explained that millions of Indonesians are still trapped in poverty. He called for stronger cooperation between the government and private sectors, particularly Muhammadiyah, which already has a network of community outreach through its universities.
“UNIMUS has great potential because it already supports community-based programs in villages. This is a golden opportunity to work together to reduce extreme poverty,” said Agus.
Agus shared that in Central Java, nine out of 923 villages have begun training and empowerment programs in partnership with private institutions, including Muhammadiyah universities.
Agus noted that under President Prabowo’s leadership, the target is to eliminate extreme poverty by 2026 and reduce the overall poverty rate to below five percent by 2029. However, these goals will be hard to achieve without collaboration. That’s why he encouraged Muhammadiyah universities to take an active part in building solutions from the ground up.
