Take Out IOMKI's Break-in At The Start Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, Minister Of Industry Agus: I AM Accused Of Coldhemic Killers

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita shared her experience when leading the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He shared the story during the launch of the book "Covid-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery 2022" in Jakarta, Tuesday, December 20.

Agus said, when the first time the COVID-19 pandemic entered the country, he received direct directions from President Joko Widodo and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto so that industries in Indonesia could continue to run.

"We are looking for a way. So, we issued a breakthrough, a policy called the operational permit and mobility of industrial activities (IOMKI)," he said.

When issuing the breakthrough, Agus said, many parties thought that the spread of COVID-19 would be faster, especially for workers in the industrial sector.

"When I issued a circular regarding IOMKI, many entered WhatsApp (WA), I was accused of being a cold-blooded killer, because I was considered to help accelerate the spread of COVID-19 in the industrial environment," he added.

Even so, Agus is grateful, even though IOMKI was issued, it still has the same responsibility as other sectors, namely prioritizing health protocols (prokes).

"Then, we closely monitored the trip. At that time, Bang Doni (Chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force Doni Monardo), we jointly exchanged ideas on how to get the industry to work, but the industry did not become the center of the spread of COVID-19," he said.

On the same occasion, Agus also explained the reason for the government to release the PPNBM relaxation policy for the automotive sector, namely the matter that the manufacturing sector, especially automotive, is the main driver of the economy in Indonesia.

"Therefore, to accelerate economic recovery, we together with the Ministry of Finance decided to provide relaxation of PPNBM. We believe that relaxation is because the automotive sector is a very large reward and forward linkage and it is a buffer or support for economic recovery," he added.