The public appreciates the National Economic Recovery (PEN) policy which is currently being optimized by the Government. With this policy, it is hoped that economic growth can be achieved soon.
The government is very committed to dealing with Covid-19 from a health perspective, which is balanced with the implementation of various PEN programs. This affected domestic demand as reflected in Household Consumption which grew 5.93% and was also responded by increasing production capacity as reflected in the formation of Gross Fixed Capital (PMTB) which grew 7.54%.
In addition, the improvement in global demand also became an additional stimulus so that exports and imports could grow at a high rate of 31.78% and 31.22%, respectively. The recovery momentum is seen in Quarter II-2021, in line with the global economic recovery, where Indonesia’s economic growth was recorded at 7.07%. This percentage is the highest since the sub-prime mortgage crisis and higher than several press countries that have released growth figures, such as Vietnam (6.6%) and South Korea (5.9%).
In order to maintain the trend of economic recovery, the PEN Program will continue and remain the main instrument for handling health and economic recovery. The government’s commitment is shown through recofusing the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) and increasing the 2021 PEN Program budget to reach Rp 744.77.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said, last year, the world experienced a contraction of minus 3.2% in terms of economic growth. As a result of Covid-19, which was then accompanied by restrictions on mobility, it created an economic downturn.
Sri Mulyani also said that international trade had slumped because all countries had imposed restrictions and even lockdowns. World trade growth, which usually reaches double digits, last year contracted to minus 8.3 percent.
In 2021, it is hoped that a rebound and recovery will occur, this is what Sri Mulyani hopes. However, the Minister of Finance reminded that this is not a guarantee. All countries with various stimulus efforts and their countercyclical policies will be faced with uncertainty. In addition to the emergence of new variants, the effectiveness of the countercyclical policy is also very much determined by how the country’s economy is.
Sri explained that his party in managing the economy must also continue to strive for recovery and a rebound because the economy can and must start moving again. The Indonesian economy with various steps taken by the government has succeeded in reaching beyond the pre-crisis level.
Before the pandemic, Indonesia’s real GDP in the second quarter of 2019 was Rp. 2,735 trillion, meanwhile in the second quarter of 2021 it has reached Rp. 2773 trillion. The Minister of Finance said this figure was higher than even before the crisis.
