President Jokowi Proposes Indonesian Economic Development Leaders To Be Nobel Prized

President Joko Widodo. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) proposed a number of economic and social development figures in Indonesia to receive a Nobel Prize for their contribution to the development of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector.

The statement was made by President Jokowi when opening the BRI Microfinance Outlook 2024 agenda in Jakarta, Thursday.

"Mr Muhammad Yunus got the Nobel Prize because Grameen Bank has a customer of 6.5 million. This should have been given by the President Director of Sunarso, he should have," said President Jokowi as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, March 7.

Reporting from The Nobel Prize page, Muhammad Yunus is the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. The man who was born in Bangladesh on June 28, 1940, was the founder of the Grameen Bank and succeeded in creating economic and social development for the poor in rural areas.

A number of names proposed by President Jokowi to obtain the Nobel Prize were the President Director of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBRI) Sunarso for the achievement of channeling MSME capital loan funds through ultra micro (UMi) financing which has now touched 8.2 million customers.

In addition, said President Jokowi, Indonesia is also developing the MSME sector through the Prosperous Family Economic Development Program (Mekaar) assisted by the Madani National Capital (PNM) which has won 15.2 million customers under the leadership of PNM President Director Arief Mulyadi.

"I don't know maybe I haven't been able to because no one has proposed it, maybe it can be taken care of by the Nobel Prize affairs," he said.

According to Jokowi, the presence of 65 million MSME players has supported 61 percent of Indonesia's economic gross domestic product (GDP).

One example, said Jokowi, is the effort to develop the MSME sector through the Mekaar PNM Program capital participation which has been rolling since 2015.

"I gave an example, PNM Mekaar from 400 thousand, jumped to now 15.2 million, then the credit given was Rp244 trillion from the previous 2015 I remember approximately Rp800 billion, then entered Rp244 trillion, that was a huge leap. Things like this should be given appreciation," said President Jokowi.