Ridwan Kamil Gives Tips To Help Overcome Moneylenders In Medan Through BJB Mesra Program

Governor of West Java (Jabar) M Ridwan Kamil. (ANTARA/HO-Humas West Java Regional Government)

MEDAN - The Governor of West Java (West Java) Ridwan Kamil said that the West Java and Banten Bank (BJB) through the Prosperous Economic Community (Mesra) credit program is a solution to dealing with loan sharks in Medan City, North Sumatra (North Sumatra).

"Bank BJB has a product that can help middle-class citizens borrow money without interest rates, without collateral," said Ridwan Kamil at the BJB Mesrakan Medan event, at Medan Fort Square, North Sumatra, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, February 1.

As for the requirements, Emil confirmed, it was very simple, that is, there must be a group of five to 10 people, then pray diligently because this credit distribution is based on Pancasila.

For Christians to go to church, while for Muslims to go to the mosque, and so on, so they get recommendations from the administrators of the local house of worship.

The former Mayor of Bandung, West Java said that this loan provision should be used as business capital for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

"Returning from the house of worship can get help. From IDR 500 thousand to IDR 5 million. So if there are 10 people, IDR 5 million each, they can get a loan of IDR 50 million. For the lowest credit, yes," he said.

He said that the West Java Provincial Government does not want the Indonesian people to become victims of moneylenders who are now moving digital to become illegal online loans (pinjol).

"In the past, they were intimidated by debt collectors, now they are digitally intimidated. Their humiliated faces are sent everywhere. So, here's a solution," he said.

According to Ridwan Kamil, thousands of people have benefited in dozens of districts/cities throughout Indonesia through Bank BJB branches.

Kang Emil also revealed that the program's bad loans were recorded at 1.3 percent until the end of this year, so his party asked the mass media to expand this information, especially in North Sumatra.

Data from the West Java Province Cooperatives and Small Business Service at the end of last year indicated that since 2018 the BJB Mesra credit program had reached three provinces, namely West Java, Banten, and Bali.

The BJB Mesra credit program has been distributed in 397 sub-districts with a total of 1,188 sub-districts or villages in West Java, Bali, and Banten.

"This is what makes West Java's poverty rate drop the highest in Indonesia in 2022, one of which is this extraordinary innovation," said the Governor of West Java.