Jakarta. An analyst urged Wednesday that the government should be transparent with the economic data that they publish, saying that inaccuracy can diminish public trust. 

"The government has to provide accurate data, not cover it up with misleading and manipulated information," Nailul Huda, a director at the think-tank Celios, told a talkshow broadcasted on Beritasatu TV on Wednesday.

Nailul looked back on when the statistics bureau BPS reported that Indonesia's economy had grown 5.12 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the second quarter. Economists at the time had even questioned its credibility. Nailul told BeritaSatu TV that the situation on the ground showed that people were struggling to find jobs. Food prices also soared, not to mention the declining purchasing power, thus a stark contrast to the growth that had beat analysts' expectations.

"The 5.12 percent yoy growth did not reflect the reality that people are facing. That's why the public does not believe the data published by the government," Nailul said.

He also warned that inaccurate data could prompt the government to issue policies that are irrelevant to what the public needs.

"If the data itself is problematic, the policies taken could be misguided and fail to address real issues," Nailul said.

BPS' chief Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti recently denied that her bureau had manipulated the Q2-2025 growth data. 

"We ensure quality assurance in every business process. That has become our standard in working, and all the statistics we produce are of a quality standard that can be accounted for," Amalia told Indonesian lawmakers last week.

The said numbers far exceeded the 4.87 percent yoy growth that Indonesia recorded in the first quarter. Manpower Ministry data also showed that layoffs had gone up by around 32 percent yoy between January and June.

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