The Ministry Of Finance Called Public Life More Difficult Due To The COVID-19 Pandemic

Illustration. (Angga Nugraha / VOI)

JAKARTA - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indonesian economy is enormous. All society and various sectors experienced tremendous turmoil. Moreover, there is no certainty when the pandemic will end.

Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency of the Ministry of Finance, Febrio Kacaribu, said that the 2020 crisis was different from the crisis that the Indonesian nation had previously experienced. Because, although we do not know when the exact time will occur, it is known that the crisis will occur.

"So the 2020 crisis is very different. The reason is that we have already calculated the impact on the economy, but we can see that every day, every week our brothers live in more difficulties, unemployment increases," he said in a virtual discussion, Monday, July 20.

Febrio also said that this pandemic also had a major impact on the business sector. Moreover, he said, when the government imposed a large-scale social restriction (PSBB) policy, which directly affected sales, which had decreased.

Furthermore, Febrio said, this condition is very important to think about and find ways to jointly build a policy that supports from all aspects.

"So the government cannot work alone or unilaterally, but it needs support from all other stakeholders," he said.

Negative Second Quarter Economic Growth

Although it has not been officially announced by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Febrio is confident that economic growth in the second quarter will grow negatively. Previously, the Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) of the Ministry of Finance estimated that economic growth would fall by minus 4.3 percent.

"There is no official data for the second quarter, we know for sure it is negative," he said.

If the prediction from the BKF is correct, then in the second quarter of 2020, Indonesia's economy will plummet deeply. Because in the second quarter of 2019, Indonesia's economy was still at 5.05 percent.

Febrio said the growth prediction of minus 4.3 percent was also below the conditions in the first quarter of 2020. At that time, when other countries had negative growth, Indonesia could still grow 2.97 percent.

Previously, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati had also conveyed predictions for Indonesia's economic growth. He estimates that the economic growth in the second quarter of 2020 will be around minus 5.1 percent to minus 3.5 percent, with a midpoint of minus 4.3 percent