Ita Nurlita, Dian Arlupi Utami, Muhammad Saud, Prasetyo Isbandono, Abdullah Ibrahim
The present study critically investigates the social assistance programs that were implemented immediately during the Indonesian Presidential Election 2024. It applies retrospective analysis to these social assistance programs to determine the situation and impact of these policies on people’s actual needs. An analysis from a theoretical disciplinary perspective, using the model of the policy approach, revealed several shortcomings: (a) policy objectives were not achieved because they did not result in a significant reduction in poverty rates, (b) there was no additional budget, and (c) the policy implementers had minimal expertise in their fields. Therefore, the majority of the public perceived these programs as particularly government-driven political agendas, which have been widely criticised on digital news channels in Indonesia. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Faculty of Vocational Studies, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia; Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia; Faculty of General Studies and Advanced Education, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
