By: Cahyo Widjaya
The Indonesian government has once again launched a series of economic stimulus policies aimed directly at the public, with the goals of maintaining purchasing power, curbing inflation, and supporting national economic growth. Through a set of strategic interventions—particularly in the food and transportation sectors—the government hopes to keep economic activity running, especially during the school holiday period.
Beginning with efforts to stabilize prices and sustain household consumption, the government, through the National Food Agency, initiated a food assistance program distributing rice starting in June 2025. The policy targets 18.3 million Beneficiary Families, each receiving 10 kilograms of rice per month for two months.
Sarwo Edhy, Secretary General of the National Food Agency, emphasized that this food aid is part of a broader economic stimulus strategy that directly addresses the basic needs of the people. This approach, he said, is not only consumer-oriented but also ensures farmer incomes are protected by preventing a drop in grain prices due to the massive distribution of subsidized rice.
Sarwo explained that the program is executed with a balanced approach—providing protection for low-income households while ensuring the sustainability of agricultural production. In close coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, the government aims to avoid disruptions in upstream prices so that the national agricultural system remains resilient. This underscores the government’s commitment to maintaining both the consumption and production sides of the economy as foundational pillars of national economic resilience.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, added that the rice assistance program is just one component of the five national economic stimulus packages that have been prepared. These packages are designed to sustain household consumption and support industrial sectors, especially labor-intensive industries.
He noted that in the current uncertain global conditions, safeguarding public purchasing power is key to maintaining economic growth. Therefore, national fiscal policy is continuously aligned with international standards. In fact, Indonesia, together with Japan, now co-leads a Southeast Asian regional initiative in partnership with the OECD.
The stimulus policies also extend to the transportation sector, where the government has allocated Rp0.94 trillion for transportation fare discounts from June to July 2025. These measures are specially designed to boost domestic mobility during the school holiday season. They include a 30% discount on economy-class train tickets for 2.8 million passengers, a 6% VAT subsidy for domestic economy-class airline tickets for 6 million passengers, and a 50% discount on ferry tickets for 0.5 million passengers.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that these incentives apply equally across all transportation modes to promote internal travel. This initiative not only facilitates holiday tourism for the public but also stimulates local economic growth in visited destinations. The incentives are expected to trigger household spending during the holiday season, thereby contributing to national economic expansion.
Furthermore, Fithra Faisal, Expert Staff at the Presidential Communications Office, observed that incentives in the transportation sector have a highly significant multiplier effect. He explained that the transport sector is directly linked to tourism and the creative economy, which are major contributors to the informal sector’s growth.
According to him, every increase in public mobility generates a ripple effect across these sectors, ultimately creating new economic opportunities and driving job creation within the informal economy.
Fithra added that the government is on the right track by directing economic stimulus during the holiday period. The school holiday in the second quarter is considered a strategic momentum for boosting public consumption.
Based on last year’s experience, he pointed out that moment-based stimulus policies had proven effective in pushing economic growth above five percent. Thus, he is optimistic that with similar strategies, the government could maintain at least a 4.9% growth rate in the second quarter of this year.
Moreover, Fithra highlighted that transportation-sector stimulus not only benefits formal entities like airlines and rail operators but also protects informal workers. He explained that increased mobility leads to greater demand for services such as local tour guides, street food vendors, small lodging providers, and souvenir sellers, many of whom are MSMEs. As a result, the five economic stimulus packages worth Rp24.4 trillion are expected to generate widespread economic impact across all social strata.
In Fithra’s analysis, the government’s focus on encouraging household consumption is a concrete effort to bridge the underperformance of growth in the first quarter of 2025, which only reached 4.87%. With this second-quarter stimulus strategy, growth is expected to rebound positively. He also emphasized the importance of precise state budget disbursement that can generate strong economic multipliers in the second half of the year.
Overall, the government’s stimulus policies reflect a strong commitment to maintaining economic equilibrium. Whether through food programs targeting low-income households or transport-sector initiatives that stimulate grassroots economic circulation, these strategies are designed to complement one another and ensure the public feels the positive impact.
The public is also encouraged to actively utilize the available stimulus, as doing so not only addresses daily needs but also strengthens the nation’s economic resilience from the grassroots to the national level.
People’s Economy Researcher – Nusantara Economic Institute
