Commission VI Of The House Of Representatives Criticizes TikTok Shop Plan To Operate Again In Indonesia: Fickle Government

Member of Commission VI DPR RI PDIP Faction Mufti Anam. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube Commission VI DPR RI)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the PDIP faction, Mufti Anam, criticized the plan for the TikTok Shop platform to resume operations in Indonesia.

This was expressed by Anam in a working meeting (raker) of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives with the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs at the Senayan Parliament Building, Jakarta, Thursday, November 23.

"I heard that TikTok Shop will reopen. Well, why is this like a government like a plin plan, yesterday it was closed now, it will be closed later, it will be opened again," said Anam.

Anam did not deny that the proposed closing of the TikTok Shop came from Commission VI of the DPR RI, which aspirations came from traders at Tanah Abang Market, Jakarta.

However, when TikTok Shop was closed by the government, in fact, the Southeast Asia largest market trader still complained about the lack of buyers.

"Yesterday, it turned out that our proposal for the TikTok Shop was closed, because we were worried that the people in Tanah Abang and the shops around it would be quieter. In fact, after the TikTok Shop was closed, it remained quiet, sir. So, we hope that once (TikTok Shop) is closed, friends in the market are also given education so that they can be literate about the digital world," he said.

"We want that even if (TikTok Shop) is opened, we hope that no one will be harmed," added Anam.

In addition, Anam also commented on the issue of domestic e-commerce which began to go bankrupt because there were few buyers, namely Bukalapak. According to him, Bukalapak has lost competitiveness with Shoppe, namely e-commerce from a foreign country.

"I am now surprised that this shoppe is extraordinary, 'I don't know why?' In fact, we have domestic e-commerce, for example Bukalapak, yes, (can you say) I'm sorry for almost going out of business. Well, we have something that can still be saved, namely Tokopedia," he said.

He admitted that he wondered why Shoppe looked more at it than Tokopedia.

"I have to look at Shoppe Tokopedia the same, if we check that the items in the shoppe are at Tokopedia. Then, the method of promotion is the same, but we see mothers and even my wife sleeping next to me, my wife is opening Shoppe, 'why do you open a shoppe? This has a foreigner?' Yes, I don't know, my eyes are better to see Shoppe," he explained.

Thus, Anam also does not understand what kind of strategy Shoppe or other foreign e-commerce uses so that it can become as big as it is today.

"But, in order to save Tokopedia so that it is not like Bukalapak, the government needs to be present because we heard why the Shop Shop or TikTok was this big, because the country concerned also took part in saving them. Then, they can grow like now," he added.

As previously reported, the Kemenkop UKM has leaked that the TikTok platform will join one of the e-commerce companies in Indonesia to operate TikTok Shop again.

This was revealed by the Assistant Deputy for Financing and Investment of the Deputy for SMEs at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Temmy Satya Permana, after a media discussion with the theme 'MSMEs Rise Class Towards Golden Indonesia' held by Forwakop at the Kemenkop UKM Building, Jakarta, Friday, November 17.

"I've heard several versions, but I haven't dared to say anything. It's possible that he (TikTok) will join (e-commerce), because if it's to make his own company, I don't think so," he said.