Confused By Supermarkets And Shopping Centers: Government Policy Has Never Been On Our Side

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Retail Entrepreneurs Association (Aprindo) feels like a stepdaughter who has been ignored by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retailers consider that so far government policies have never favored corporations.

General Chairperson of Aprindo Roy N Mandey said that so far the government considers corporations to have large reserves of funds. So according to him, the government has never paid special attention.

"Often we see that in the Emergency PPKM there is no assistance at all for the supermarket or mall sector corporations in this case. Why? Because the situation we are looking at is the lower sector. While we have to keep the lower sector awake, there are workers, " he said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, July 22.

Furthermore, said Roy, so far the government's policy has only been thinking about the trade sector of the small community, without paying attention to corporate entrepreneurs. In fact, said Roy, if the corporation collapses, the impact will be even greater.

"If a corporation falls, the impact will be greater. But in fact now it is the lower sector that is being helped. We don't have a problem with aid for them, it must be helped, but the big ones must also be helped," he said.

According to Roy, the government also provides assistance to factories, one of which is the food and beverage sector. However, he assessed, the assistance will not have any impact. Because the downstream sector is not maintained.

"The upstream food and beverage manufacturing sector is always subsidized by the government. What does it mean if the downstream sector is not maintained, there is no condition given so that it can continue to operate. This is nothing. The upstream sector is assisted by the downstream sector, and the product is eaten alone by the upstream sector? which sells to downstream consumers," he explained.

Roy said the government should also pay attention to corporations, especially the self-service sector. Because, if left to struggle alone, corporations can go bankrupt and close. Investors can also leave.

"If large corporations are not helped when they go bankrupt, close and go bankrupt, investors leave," he said.