Sandiaga Uno: The Recession Does Not Need To Be Debated, The Important Thing Is Let 's Together Help MSMEs

Founder of OK OCE and Politician Gerindra, Sandiaga Uno. (Photo: Twitter @sandiuno)

JAKARTA - Founder of OK OCE, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said, in the midst of a crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a recession does not need to be debated, what must be discussed is a step forward to make the economy recover from the pressure of the pandemic.

He said, economic recovery will occur when the government can help micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM). This is because the micro business sector is the main engine of economic growth, where 60 percent of economic growth is contributed by MSMEs, and 97 percent of employment comes from this sector.

"The crisis is complete, depending on how we recover MSMEs. Now, these MSMEs are synonymous with consumption. Yesterday in the third quarter we saw that the increase in household consumption in our GDP portion was very significant, now it has almost reached 60 percent," he said in a virtual discussion, Tuesday , 10 November.

Furthermore, Sandi said the government could carry out economic recovery by encouraging sectors that could create jobs. However, the success of the economic recovery really depends on how supported the government is.

"The fact is that higher unemployment is always due to the collapse of the MSME sector. This is what I want to share that state income is very much determined by their high contribution to economic growth," he said.

Sandi said, even though there was a Job Creation Omnibus Law which was claimed to be able to open jobs for the Indonesian people, the government still had to side with the selection of MSMEs. Because this sector absorbs the most workers.

"I invite all of us to focus on building this country back from an economic downturn by siding with MSMEs. Siding with small and medium industries, siding with sectors that create many jobs," he said.

The former Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta revealed that currently almost half of the number of MSMEs in Indonesia has collapsed. Therefore, MSMEs must be assisted with policies that can help them rise.

"I saw with my own eyes they laid off their workers, were dismissed by the term, even though they did not receive money, this is what needs to be injected with cash assistance," he said.