Encouraging The Indonesian Economy, Members Of The PKS Faction Express That The Government Must Help Middle Class

Rupiah (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA Member of Commission XI DPR RI from the PKS faction Anis Byarwati conveyed data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) which recorded the number of middle class residents in Indonesia in 2024 as many as 47.85 million people, this figure is down when compared to the previous 48.27 million people in 2023, which is data that the government needs to pay attention to.

"Because with the growth of this middle class, it has the potential to encourage increased consumption and in turn national economic growth, on the other hand, if it decreases, it will erode economic growth," he said in his statement, Monday, September 2.

In addition, Anis also reminded the government not to issue counterproductive policies when the middle class decreases and purchasing power weakens.

"Middle class is currently under pressure from fiscal and monetary policies, the increase in VAT is 11 percent to 12 percent in the next few months, then the benchmark interest rate has risen since April and has not dropped again, this condition is hitting the middle class," he said.

Meanwhile, Anis agrees with BPS which states that the middle class also has an important role in maintaining domestic economic stability with household consumption.

"The government should encourage social policies that expand the middle class, such as through larger spending on education and health," he said.

Anis explained that the impact of the pandemic on the economy is still being felt by Indonesia until now, as evidenced by the continued decline in the middle class in 2019 from 57.33 million people to date, or there are 9.06 million middle class people down to 2024.

"The government needs to induce policies that encourage middle-class income so that their consumption spending can be increased, and keep vulnerable middle class groups from falling into poverty," he said.

According to Anis, there is no other way to prevent the middle class from falling into poverty is to provide jobs that suit their abilities.

"Therefore, the Government must be able to convince investors to open up great investment opportunities for them, so that they will create jobs, especially for the middle class," he said.

Anis said that in the short term, the Government could also take steps, postpone the increase in VAT by 12 percent next year, ensure that there will be no increase in fuel prices that will affect transportation in the near future, delay the increase in UKT in the next few years, eradicate online gambling, reduce interest rates, and provide incentives for providing drinking water for the community.