By: Zakaria )*
Economic growth in Indonesia continues to show a positive trend. Likewise, the number of Covid-19 patients who continue to decline has proven that the government is able to control the impact of the Corona virus.
How’s Corona in Indonesia? It doesn’t feel like we’ve had a pandemic for almost 2 years, and the situation isn’t as terrible as it was in 2020. Currently, the situation has improved because the number of Corona patients was not as much as 3 months ago, and there have been vaccinations as an effort to increase immunity against Corona. So people who have been vaccinated are safer from the Covid-19 virus.
From the data of the Covid-19 task force team, the number of Corona patients in October 2021 was only 700 per day. Compare that to July 2021, when the number of patients reached 50,000 people per day. The situation is getting safer after the PPKM level is implemented, because community mobility decreases and cases automatically decrease as well.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartanto stated that the pandemic had slowed down, even Indonesia had entered an endemic period. In a sense, endemic is a condition where there is a disease but only in one particular area, and its spread is very controlled.
Minister Airlangga added that the national economic recovery program (PEN) was also running as expected. Activity has recovered even though it is not 100%, and the point is that this momentum must be maintained together. When the pandemic is under control and the economy is stable, it proves the correctness of government policies and programs.
One of the government’s programs that are effective in saving the state’s financial condition is the recovery of the national economy. Unmitigated, the budget for PEN has reached more than 700 trillion rupiah. This amount of money is not only for the economy, but is also channeled to the health sector, intensive health workers, procurement of equipment, death benefits, etc.
So far, the national economic recovery program that has been highlighted to the public is tax and credit restructuring. So that civilians are relieved in paying taxes and they can repay loans with a lower nominal, even though the period of time is extended. This makes it very easy for them because their economy is affected by the pandemic.
When there are tax subsidies and bank credit relief guaranteed by the government, it really helps the little people. Because at the beginning of the pandemic the economy was sluggish, and people’s purchasing power declined. Although now slowly starting to rise, MSME businessmen continue to struggle to survive in the midst of the onslaught of the pandemic, and assistance from the government is very helpful for them.
Help for MSME entrepreneurs is indeed a priority, because they are the backbone of the country’s economy, because 90% of businesses in Indonesia are small and medium-sized. If MSMEs progress, the wheels of the country’s economy will also develop automatically, so they are very entitled to get subsidies and BLT from the government.
In addition, controlling the pandemic also proves that the programs carried out by the government are successful and are always obeyed by the people. First, when Corona first arrived in Indonesia, everyone was obliged to stay at home. Then there is an easing with the adaptation of new habits, followed by tightening the PSBB and PPKM. This tug-of-war method is more successful than a total lockdown because it can plunge the economy.
The government also requires vaccination for all Indonesian people, and it is 100% free. People are certainly happy because they don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of rupiah. When many have been vaccinated, it is proven that the transmission of Corona continues to decline.
The government has succeeded in controlling the negative effects of the pandemic and growing the country’s economy so that it does not fall into a recession. The community also plays an important role, because they obey various regulations so that government programs are successful.
)* The author is a citizen living in Bogor
