Depleted Fund Reserves, PPKM Apply, Layoffs Stalking, Hippindo: We Need Government Loans

Illustrations (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Shopping Center Retailers and Renters Association (Hippindo), Budihardjo Iduansjah, asked the government for help to survive amid the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistance requested is access to additional working capital even though credit restructuring.

"We need a business loan from the government. This retail company has a scalable business plan," he said in a virtual press conference in Jakarta, Monday, January 18.

Budi hopes that the government can provide additional working capital either from government grants or from bank funds. According to him, the government must consider the balance between handling health with certainty and comfort in trying to deal with this pandemic.

"Both need to be handled together and in a balanced way so that the pandemic can be controlled and the economy continues to grow," he said.

Not only that, Budihardjo also asked that the policy on Restricting Community Activities (PPKM) not be continued because it could worsen the cash flow of business actors.

"If the PPKM continues, the entrepreneurs will close their shops, the entrepreneurs have already spent the reserve funds," he said.

On the same occasion, Chairman of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Hariyadi Sukamdani said that the extension of the PPKM will have an impact on the workforce.

"The problem of termination of employment (PHK) depends on the company's cash flow, if it continues to be stressed it automatically cannot be avoided," said Hariyadi.

In addition, Hariyadi hopes that the government will loosen up PPKM, especially regarding the operating hours of shopping centers, modern retail stores, and restaurants.

"We hope that the implementation of restrictions on community activities, especially operational hours after January 25, can be relaxed until 21:00 with a maximum dine-in capacity of 50 percent," he said.

According to Hariyadi, the easing does not guarantee that income will increase significantly. However, at least loosening the limits on operating hours and dine in capacity will open up opportunities for increased income.

"Indeed, it does not guarantee direct profit from business activities, but there are opportunities for increased income," he said.