Erick Thohir To Form UMKM Holding, Faisal Basri: That's A Very Misguided Thought

Minister of BUMN, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of BUMN)

JAKARTA - Senior economist from the University of Indonesia and Indef, Faisal Basri, highlighted the desire of Minister of BUMN Erick Thohir to form a holding related to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) affairs. He considered that the plan was a wrong or misguided step.

Faisal explained that the UMKM problem could not be solved by just forming a holding. This is because MSMEs not only face capital problems but also need market access, innovation, access to technology, and others.

Furthermore, said Faisal, the second reason why the formation of this holding does not need to be continued is because of the striking differences in the business of the three state-owned companies that will join this holding. So that according to him, the holding of UMKM affairs seems forced even though it looks unsuitable.

The three companies that are members of the holding for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) and Ultra Micro (UMi) affairs are PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, PT Pegadaian (Persero), and PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (Persero) , with the parent company, namely BRI.

Faisal gave an example, so far, BRI's business has focused more on serving the bankable MSME segment as well as the corporate segment. Meanwhile, the PNM business tends to be relatively new, so it is necessary to have a venture capital. Meanwhile, Pegadaian's business direction is precisely to help people experiencing short-term liquidity difficulties.

Therefore, said Faisal, Erick Thohir must remember that each type of business has certain characteristics. It cannot just be beaten just like that and cannot be combined without seeing the compatibility.

Then, Faisal analogized the formation of the UMKM holding company with various types of food. All food has a good taste. For example pecel, steak, and vegetable tamarind. However, these three types of food cannot be combined to eat together. Because, said Faisal, it would confuse someone with the taste of the food.

"Let us try, we push the awareness that this initiative (the establishment of an UMKM holding company) can be canceled, because it is a very misguided thought," he said, in a virtual discussion, Wednesday, January 13.

Moreover, said Faisal, the formation of the holding was not in line with the idea of advancing domestic MSMEs because of a wrong understanding of the problem. Where, the government considers the problem of UMKM as if it only lies in capital. In fact, the problem that befell them is more than just financing.

"Because to develop they also need access to information, market access, access to technology to be more productive, efficient and resilient. So, (the government) needs to help solve the fundamental problems faced by MSMEs," he said.

For your information, since the first volume of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration, one of the big plans and priorities of the Ministry of BUMN is to merge several state-owned companies into one company or holding. After the change of BUMN Minister Rini Soemarno to Erick Thohir, this plan still echoes despite the pros and cons.

Currently, several state-owned holding companies have been recorded, including the mining sector holding company with the holding company PT Inalum, and the oil and gas sector holding company with the holding company PT Pertamina.

Most recently, the Ministry of BUMN is also trying to form a holding company for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) and Ultra Micro (UMi) which consists of three state-owned companies, namely PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, PT Pegadaian (Persero) , and PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (Persero), with the parent company, BRI.