Ridwan Kamil Says Civil Servants Not To Save And Instead Buy MSME Products: It's The Same As State Defense

West Java Governor, Ridwan Kamil. (Photo: Doc. Public Relations of West Java Provincial Government)

JAKARTA - West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said that he is currently looking for ways to increase people's purchasing power amid the sluggish economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of them is by inviting the upper middle class to shop.

Ridwan Kamil said, people's purchasing power in West Java is divided into two. First, middle to lower class, this is a class that is deeply depressed in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this can be overcome with social assistance (bansos) provided by the West Java Provincial Government (Pemprov).

Meanwhile, the purchasing power of the upper middle class, said Ridwan Kamil, was affected because they chose to save their money instead of spending it during this pandemic.

Therefore, Ridwan Kamil invited the upper middle class to shop. Including civil servants (PNS) residing in West Java. Because, according to him, the income of civil servants was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We continue to campaign for this, one of which is to launch next month so that the people of West Java want to shop, especially civil servants. Because we have hundreds of thousands of total civil servants in which their income are not affected by the pandemic. I said shopping is defending the country. No need to save first. "he said, in a webinar on 'Accelerated Economic Recovery', Tuesday, January 26.

Kang Emil, his nickname, invited West Java civil servants not to save at this time. This is because, he said, the country is experiencing a crisis, so it needs to be assisted by the upper middle class so that purchasing power does not plunge.

"Save it later when the situation is normal and it is now a crisis. Take out the savings to buy MSME products with the concept of 'Let's Shopping'," he said.

As is known, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of the national economy. With a contribution of 60 percent to gross domestic product (GDP).

In particular, Ridwan Kamil also invited West Java residents who were classified as capable to tolerate Balinese society. As is known, the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed economic activity on the Island of the Gods, the majority of which comes from the tourism sector.

"We will help the people of West Java to buy Balinese handicraft products. Later our solidarity will go to the province of Bali, whose tourism is still far from recovering compared to West Java province," he said.