RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Population data is a cornerstone of public services and national development in Indonesia. The government has emphasized the importance of accurate, secure, and integrated management to support sectors ranging from public services to democratic processes.

This commitment was formalized through a Cooperation Agreement between the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil) of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Secretariat General of the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) in Jakarta on Friday, July 31, 2026.

Director General of Dukcapil, Teguh Setyabudi, said population data plays a strategic role in supporting public services, including general and regional elections. He stressed that its use must be accompanied by strong safeguards to protect personal data.

“It is crucial that we all work together to maintain data security. Cybersecurity must serve as a strong barrier. This is mandated under both the Population Administration Law and the Personal Data Protection Law,” Teguh said, as quoted by Antara.

Data security measures refer to Law No. 27/2022 on Personal Data Protection, recommendations from the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), and the ISO 27001 information security standard.

Teguh noted that the collaboration with Bawaslu marks the first step in strengthening the use of population data to support democracy. Following the signing, both parties will draft technical guidelines, conduct a proof of concept, and monitor implementation.

“The MoU has been signed, but what matters most is its implementation. We cannot slack off; we must continue to work hard to complete this quickly,” he said.

He revealed that the use of population data has grown significantly over the past decade. While only about 10 institutions accessed the data in 2013, more than 7,693 institutions were using it by 2026.

This increase reflects the transformation of population administration services, which are now nationally integrated. The Dukcapil system currently processes eight to nine million data access requests daily, with total usage exceeding 20 billion hits.

Population data is now widely used across sectors including health, telecommunications, education, social assistance, banking, law enforcement, and development planning and budget allocation. It also plays a vital role in supporting elections.

Teguh hopes that the collaboration between Dukcapil and Bawaslu will optimize the use of population data for the public good while ensuring system security and protecting personal data. ***