Breadfruit (malangkota.go.id) – The poverty rate in Malang City has reached its lowest point in the last ten years. This was conveyed by the Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Malang City, Umar Sjaifudin, M.Si in the Official Statistics News Release (BRS) at the BPS Office of Malang City, Thursday (1/8/2024).

In the BRS Release discussing the three agendas, Umar stated that the number of poor people in Malang City fell from 37,78 thousand people in March 2023 to 34,84 thousand people in March 2024. This caused the poverty rate in Malang City to fall by 0,35 percent from 4,26 percent in the 2023 period to 3,91 percent in the 2024 period. "This figure makes Malang City the city with the second lowest poverty rate in East Java," explained Umar.
Umar further explained several factors driving the decline in poverty rates in Malang City. Among them are the compilation of a database through the Malang City Social Welfare Data Collection (PDKTSAM) application which produces data by name by address and by need, more targeted poverty interventions with the PDKTSAM results database, and the success of controlling the prices of commodities that trigger inflation.
"Also with the Malang City Government's support for local MSMEs regarding the priority of using micro, small and medium business products and creative economy actors in the procurement of government goods and services," he said.
However, Umar said the issue of poverty is not just about the number and percentage of poor people. Another dimension that needs to be considered is the level of depth and severity of poverty. The poverty depth index indicates the average distance of poor people's expenditure from the poverty line. The poverty severity index indicates the inequality of expenditure among the poor.
"The Poverty Depth Index and Poverty Severity Index of Malang City in 2024 experienced a significant decline compared to other districts/cities. This can be interpreted that the quality of welfare of the population in Malang City is better," he explained.
Separately, Acting Mayor of Malang Dr. Ir. Wahyu Hidayat, MM expressed his appreciation and gratitude for this achievement. Malang City in the July 2024 period experienced deflation of -0,01 percent at 1,83 percent for year-on-year inflation. This figure is clearly within the national inflation range of 2,5 percent (plus minus one).
Although it is considered safe, Wahyu reminded all parties to remain vigilant against price fluctuations of several commodities that could affect the rate of inflation in Malang City. "Of course we must remain vigilant, because in the TPID National Coordination Meeting last Monday, it was mentioned that several commodities such as cooking oil, rice and cayenne pepper experienced price increases," he said.
The number one person in the Malang City Government emphasized that in the near future his party will make several efforts to anticipate price fluctuations, especially for cayenne pepper commodities. The steps taken include signing an inter-regional cooperation (KAD) carried out with the Lumajang Regency Government. In addition, another strategic plan carried out is to monitor commodity prices in markets by the Malang City Regional Inflation Control Team. (iu/yon)