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Politics · Asia

Indonesia targets animation to widen job opportunities

Industry Minister Muhammad Sarmuji said the Industry Ministry is targeting animation as a way to expand employment across Indonesia. He described animation as labor-intensive and cited three members of the film Jumbo’s production team who graduated from the Denpasar Industrial Training Center.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made

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What happened

Key facts

  • Indonesia is promoting its animation industry to expand jobs (per antaranews.com, rri.co.id).
  • Industry Minister Muhammad Sarmuji said animation production requires substantial human involvement (per antaranews.com).

The brief

Indonesia’s Industry Ministry is targeting animation as a way to expand employment across the country, Industry Minister Muhammad Sarmuji said during a visit to the Denpasar Industrial Training Center in Bali. The ministry’s stated aim is to make industry a major source of jobs, with digital industries identified by Sarmuji as having strong capacity to absorb workers.

Sarmuji described animation as a labor-intensive field, saying that production involves significant work by people. He said detailed elements of animated production still require human input, even as digital technology advances. His account presents the sector not only as a digital industry, but also as one that can employ workers through hands-on production.

To illustrate the connection between training and animation work, Sarmuji cited the film Jumbo. He said three members of the film’s production team graduated from the Denpasar Industrial Training Center. The example links a local training institution with personnel working on a feature-length animated film.

Sarmuji said Indonesian talent can compete globally and urged attention and support for the graduates. He described the graduates as fellow citizens who need such support, but did not identify a particular support measure in his remarks.

The Industry Ministry’s broader target, as he stated it, is to use the industrial sector to create jobs, while the digital industry offers significant capacity to absorb labor. The account ties the employment push to the work involved in animation production and to graduates’ participation in Jumbo.

It does not give a national hiring target or specify how many jobs the animation sector might create. Sarmuji’s remarks therefore set out the government’s direction and point to a training-to-production example, rather than quantifying expected employment.

The ministry’s focus is on expanding opportunities across Indonesia, while the example Sarmuji offered comes from the Denpasar training center. His comments connect the center’s graduates to film production and frame animation as a sector in which human labor remains important. No additional hiring steps or specific support program were outlined in his remarks.

Why it matters

  • The Industry Ministry is targeting animation to expand employment opportunities across Indonesia, with the digital industry described as having high capacity to absorb workers.
  • Sarmuji’s example connects the Denpasar Industrial Training Center to animation production through three Jumbo production-team graduates.
  • The minister said animation requires substantial human involvement, making workers’ contributions a central part of the employment rationale he gave.

What to watch next

  • Whether the Industry Ministry advances its stated aim of making industry a major source of jobs.
  • Whether the government provides the attention and support Sarmuji said the Jumbo production-team graduates need.
  • Whether the Denpasar Industrial Training Center’s graduates continue to be linked to animation production.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
2 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center
Where the outlets are based: Asia 50% · Unknown 50%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
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Center
Right
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2 outlets
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Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
How we measure coverage

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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. In 1955, animator Dukut Hendronoto made *Si Doel Memilih*, commonly identified as Indonesia’s first animated film; it was produced as an election-related film.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. Indonesia issued Presidential Instruction No. 6, directing ministries and local governments to develop the creative economy, including animation.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. In 2015, President Joko Widodo established the Creative Economy Agency through Presidential Regulation No. 6 of 2015, giving the sector a dedicated national institution.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. Indonesia issued Presidential Instruction No. 9, calling for vocational high schools to be revitalized to better match workforce needs.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Law No. 24 of 2019 on the Creative Economy, enacted on October 8, 2019, provided a statutory framework for developing creative businesses and workers.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Indonesia’s animation sector gained a prominent domestic benchmark with *Jumbo*, directed by Ryan Adriandhy and released in Indonesian cinemas on March 31, 2025.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Indonesia’s animation sector gained a prominent domestic benchmark with *Jumbo*, directed by Ryan Adriandhy and released in Indonesian cinemas on March 31, 2025. Presidential Instruction No. 6 of 2009 directed Indonesian ministries and local governments to develop the creative economy, including animation and other audiovisual work.

In 2015, President Joko Widodo established the Creative Economy Agency through Presidential Regulation No. 6 of 2015, giving the sector a dedicated national institution. 9 of 2016 then called for vocational high schools to be revitalized to better match training with workforce needs. Law No.

Original sources

2 articles from 2 outlets

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