Jakarta – The government has a policy program to write off debts of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The government is currently able to verify who is eligible for the program.
Minister of UMKM, Maman Abdurrahman some time ago said that the Government will write off the debt bills of 67 thousand UMKM group customers throughout Indonesia with a total value of Rp 2.5 trillion. This step is part of the Government’s target to write off all debts of 1 million UMKM which reaches around Rp 14 trillion.
“Those that have been written off, there are 1 million MSME entrepreneurs spread throughout Indonesia. To enter the write-off, until today the potential is 67 thousand,” said Maman.
This policy has received support from various parties. Ilham Permana, a member of Commission VII of the House of Representatives from the Golkar Party Faction, called this step a progressive strategy to support economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. According to him, many MSME entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic now have the opportunity to rise again.
“This policy provides breathing space for MSMEs to survive and contribute to the national economy,” Ilham said. However, he also reminded that its implementation must be carried out carefully to avoid misuse.
Chairman of Commission VII of the DPR, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, stated that this program is very good, but its implementation must be accompanied by strict supervision and objective selection to ensure that only MSMEs that really need it receive benefits.
Many benefits are expected from this policy. With the elimination of debt, MSMEs can allocate their resources to business development, purchase raw materials, expand the market, or even recruit new workers. This policy is expected to accelerate the recovery of the MSME sector, which is the backbone of the Indonesian economy.
If the MSME sector can grow, its impact will be widespread in increasing people’s income and national economic growth. However, the PAN Faction reminded that the Government must ensure the validity of recipient data so that this policy is right on target and not misused.
The government is working with banks and financial institutions to verify recipient data. In addition, transparency in conveying recipient data to the public is important to maintain public trust.
According to Ilham Permana, supervision of this policy must be carried out in two stages: before implementation to ensure the validity of recipient data and after implementation to ensure that beneficiaries truly utilize this policy optimally.
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