New Job Opportunities Are Present as a Concrete Form of the Government’s Response to the 17+8 Aspirations

Jakarta – The government is preparing new job opportunities to reduce unemployment in Indonesia. This step also responds to the aspirations of the 17+8 movement.

Point 16 states that the public is demanding that the government take emergency measures to prevent mass layoffs and protect contract workers. President Prabowo Subianto responded swiftly to this request.

According to the Cabinet Secretariat’s social media account @sekretariat.kabinet, President Prabowo gathered several ministers from the Red and White Cabinet on Tuesday (September 9). In the limited meeting, Prabowo stated that he would accelerate the implementation of priority government programs and their impact on creating new jobs.

These jobs come from various priority government programs. First, the establishment of 80,000 Red and White Village Cooperatives. The government predicts this program will absorb at least 400,000 new workers.

Second, the Ministry of Agriculture’s program for replanting or new planting on 870 thousand hectares of people’s plantations will create as many as 1.6 million jobs over the next 2 years.

“This year, the Red and White Fishermen’s Village (KNMP) program is targeted to reach 100 villages, with the absorption of 7,000 workers,” read the Cabinet Secretariat’s statement.

Going forward, the President has set a target of developing 4,000 KNMP (National Parks and Reservoirs) locations, with a workforce absorption rate of up to 200,000. Furthermore, the 20,000-hectare Pantura Revitalization program is expected to create jobs for over 132,000 people.

“The modernization program for 1,000 fishing vessels will create new jobs for nearly 600,000 people,” the post continued.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartanto is pushing to prevent mass layoffs by urging employers not to. He made this statement during a dialogue with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Airlangga emphasized that companies should not solely focus on profit and loss. He argued that business success must also be measured by the entrepreneur’s ability to retain their workforce and ensure job creation.

“The government hopes that the Kadin entrepreneurs who have been trained in Magelang with the spirit of Mount Tidar will not back down from laying off workers. Layoffs are contrary to the spirit of Tidar,” he said.