Already Poor, Vulnerable To Exploitation: Tracing Class Inequality From The Case Of Baim Wong And Pinjol

JAKARTA - Baim Wong and online loans (pinjol) have been a long discussion in the past week. There is a common thread that can be drawn from both of them, namely about the vulnerability of the poor to the exploitation of the more established. The question of social class has come to the fore again, accentuating the gap between us.

Baim Wong was heavily criticized for displaying arrogance towards an old man named Suhud, the seller of Juz Amma. The YouTuber was also in the spotlight for exploiting the poor for content on social media. Following Baim Wong, another YouTuber, Nikita Mirzani, took advantage of Grandpa Suhud's viral momentum for his YouTube.

Not long ago, the Directorate of Special Economic Crimes (Dittipideksus) of the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit raided seven prominent offices in Jakarta. North Jakarta is the largest area. It was recorded that four out-of-pocket offices in North Jakarta were raided. The police arrested seven collectors and SMS blasting operators from the series of raids.

Previously, Polda Metro Jaya also raided the pinjol office in Tangerang, namely PT Indo Tekno. The company has been operating for three years. According to the police, PT Indo Tekno often makes collections with threats of violence and the distribution of pornographic photos. From the raid in Tangerang the police arrested 32 people.

The problem of pinjol has been stated to be the focus of police work. National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit has instructed strict action against illegal peer to peer lending (fintech P2P lending) or financial technology peer to peer lending (fintech P2P lending) deemed detrimental to the public. Listyo said that this strict action order even came from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"Illegal Pinjol crime is very detrimental to the community, so special handling steps are needed. Carry out eradication efforts with pre-emptive, preventive and repressive strategies," Listyo said, as reported by Antara.

Listyo also explained that illegal lending has become increasingly widespread in line with the economic problems of Sausage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic difficulties are used by loan companies to exploit the poor. As of October 2021, the National Police recorded 370 reports related to illegal borrowing.

"It was found that the victims had committed suicide due to the accumulating interest and not paying," Listyo said.

Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira said there was a common thread between the cases of Baim Wong, Nikita Mirzani, and all the outstanding problems. If you look at the framework of capitalism, it is clear that the domination of the elite - Baim Wong, Nikita Mirzani, and the loan companies - exploits the poor or the proletariat.

"Yes, basically it is still within the framework of capitalism. Those who have large capital have little exploitation. Influencers are getting richer because their adsense income is large. The poor tomorrow will also remain poor."

"Illegal financiers take advantage of the people's need for quick funds by charging very high interest rates, some even have the interest calculated per year above 300 percent of the loan principal. That is very unfair and inhumane," Bhima told VOI, Friday, October 15 .

The sociologist of the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Tantan Hermansah explains, using class theory, how the vulnerability of the poor or proletariat is exploited by the elite. "When he is at the top, he has the privilege in life. While at the bottom, it is difficult for him to just defend his existence," said Tantan to VOI, Friday, October 15.

"The top person will forever have a desire to maintain his elite. And the bottom person always has a dream to continue to advance in class. The problem is when those at the top don't want to be crushed by their power, then he must maintain it in such a way. One of them is using exploitative methods, either directly or indirectly. Because only then can they maintain their elitist position."

Not just an assumption. A survey conducted by the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) shows that one percent of the rich in Indonesia controls 50 percent of national assets.

This was revealed by TNP2K in their final report on their performance achievements. The report explains that although poverty has been suppressed since 2015, the social class gap is still a work that must be pursued

At the Vice President's Palace, Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, TNP2K Executive Secretary Bambang Widianto explained that the poverty rate continued to decline, from 11.2 percent in March 2015 to 9.41 percent in March 2019.

"For the first time, the poverty rate is in 1 digit, considering that the smaller the poverty rate, the more difficult it is to reduce it," said Bambang.

Even so, Bambang also mentioned that there is a concentration of national assets in a small number of the richest groups in Indonesia. That means "the remaining 90 percent of the population is fighting over the remaining 30 percent. That needs to be corrected," said Bambang.

Indonesia, said Bambang, occupies the fourth position as the country with the highest comparison after Russia, India and Thailand. The basis of this inequality, according to Bambang, is access to basic needs.

So what must be done in the future is to improve schools, sanitation, health, electricity, and clean water. After that, the government is also obliged to fix the problem of employment. This aspect is important apart from attracting investment and building infrastructure.

"On a macro level, the most effective in other countries is to increase the effectiveness of our taxation. The tax must be carried out effectively so that fair people who have to pay taxes pay taxes at a fair rate," said Bambang.

*Read other information about POVERTY or read other interesting articles from Yudhistira Mahabharata.