Trade Minister Lutfi: Gotong Royong Vaccination Is A Symbol Of Government-Private Cooperation In Resolving The Pandemic

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade (Mendag) Muhammad Lutfi emphasized that Gotong Royong vaccination is a symbol of government and private cooperation in resolving the pandemic.

This synergy is expected to accelerate the recovery of Indonesia's trade and economic performance. Gotong Royong vaccination is part of local wisdom in breaking the chain of the spread of COVID-19.

"We have to cut the COVID-19 chain. This Gotong Royong vaccination has become a symbol in Indonesian society that the government and the private sector can solve problems faced together, in mutual cooperation. We must be disciplined and uphold cooperation for the common good," said the Trade Minister through an official statement received in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Saturday, June 12.

The Minister of Trade said that without breaking the chain of the spread of COVID-19, economic activities in Indonesia and the world would not run, so continuous vaccination was needed.

However, if vaccination has been carried out, there are still people who are infected, this shows that COVID-19 is a very unique virus. A shared commitment is needed in dealing with the pandemic.

"Gotong Royong vaccination is part of the cooperation between the rich and the less fortunate and is part of the private sector's responsibility, especially large companies, to provide vaccinations to their employees. This means that Gotong Royong vaccination will help the government in achieving herd immunity," he said. Trade Minister.

The Trade Minister explained that the anatomy of Indonesia's economic growth is supported by consumption, which is 58.96 percent. This consumption is closely related to the state of the Indonesian economy. For this reason, in order to continue to grow, breaking the chain of the spread of COVID-19 is an important part.

Economic growth is also supported by investment growth or Gross Fixed Capital Formation (PMTB), which is 31 percent. After that, government consumption amounted to 6.8 percent.

"This means that the issue of consumption is very important. Our target in the second quarter of this year is to increase consumption by 7 percent in order to rationally encourage growth," said the Minister of Trade.

For the domestic market, the government has made efforts to improve consumption. In the first quarter of 2021, the government has removed the luxury tax on vehicles with a nearly 70 percent domestic product content. The government also abolished the luxury tax on property.

"After breaking the chain of the spread of COVID-19, the Government must restore the level of consumer confidence so that they can shop again and this is the most important part of the Indonesian economy," said the Minister of Trade.

The Minister of Trade revealed that from the point of view of export destination countries, several major export destination countries have shown improvement. China, for example, the economy in the first quarter of 2021 grew by 18 percent.

Meanwhile, the United States has also shown remarkable improvements. In the first quarter, it showed growth of 0.4 percent and is projected to grow 5.1 percent in 2021.

"We can see that this vaccination can indeed break the chain of the spread of COVID-19 and can grow the economy," said the Minister of Trade.