Minister Teten Denies The Government's Assumption Of Killing The TikTok Shop Business Because It Is Prohibited From Selling

Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki. (Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki objected if the public considered the government to have killed the TikTok Shop business for prohibiting buying and selling transactions.

Teten explained, one of the points of the Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 31 of 2023 stated that social commerce such as TikTok Shop is not allowed to transact, and is only allowed to promote products.

"So, don't twist it as if the government regulates, enforces the law against TikTok Shop because it doesn't have a permit, it continues to be considered by the government to want to kill the TikTok business, that's not it," Teten told reporters at Smesco Indonesia, Jakarta, Thursday, October 5.

Teten said, TikTok Shop can operate again in Indonesia as long as it meets various requirements as e-commerce.

He considered that the cessation of the operation of TikTok Shop in Indonesia yesterday was because the platform had not yet had an e-commerce permit.

"It's good if you make new ones, they can also reopen their TikTok Shops in Indonesia, which they have been closing because the permits are not allowed to sell yet," he said.

Furthermore, Teten also welcomed TikTok's steps if it wanted to establish a legal entity in Indonesia, which is one of the conditions for the re-operation of the platform.

"They can make TikTok Shop here by forming a legal entity in Indonesia, they must apply for a permit, must follow the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 31 of 2023," he said.

Based on VOI records, after the closure of the TikTok Shop on Wednesday afternoon, October 4, many bad comments emerged regarding the government's move.

Dennies Soesanto, a suitcase seller and a bag on TikTok Shop, regretted the closure of the TikTok Shop service.

He considered that the government's efforts to close the TikTok Shop were considered mass layoffs for traders. Sellers on TikTok Shop are now starting to reduce sales stock.

"(In) one month it might reduce the stock to a thin profit. In fact, a lot of sellers build new studios, then I myself just added new hosts starting this month," said Dennies.

He added that currently many of his employees are unemployed as a result of the closure of the TikTok Shop.

"Certainly, the employees in the TikTok division are unemployed today, so they have to have a meeting and think about a new strategy on other platforms," he said.

Not only that, Alice Norin, one of the artists who also has a business doing the last live broadcast before TikTok Shop closed.

He and several of his employees made sales discounts that could be accessed by buyers.

Moments later, Alice Norin uploaded a moment when her employees were crying behind the live broadcast screen.

Tears could no longer be dammed when Alice and her employees cried.

Before the hour at 17.00 WIB, the employees started screaming to count back together. Not a few of them kept crying before Alice Norin hinted to close the broadcast.

"Finally, today comes too, keep trying until the last second. It's not just a matter of'selling artis on TikTok' but more than that. There are many heads & families who depend on this business," wrote the description in the video uploaded by Alice Norin.