Government to rely on BPS data

JAKARTA (Jakarta Post) : President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) here Tuesday to maintain its independence in providing accurate data to help the government form policies.

"The government always refers to data from BPS in drafting policies. We use it to improve our performance," he said in his speech to mark the opening of a BPS national meeting.

"If we find a worsening indicator in the data, then we try to find a solution. Therefore, I call on BPS to always provide us with reliable data for the sake of the country's improvement."

Last year the agency sparked a controversy with data that showed a lower poverty rate in the country, while the real condition of the poor was generally considered worse due to skyrocketing prices of staple foods.

The BPS said Tuesday it was set to start a national survey on manpower this month and another survey on economic and social conditions in March to determine the country's unemployment and poverty rates.