Today, the most important measure is to make concrete and fundamental improvements.Jakarta (ANTARA) - A lawmaker has called on the government to take concrete steps to deal with economic recession on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Today, the most important measure is to make concrete and fundamental improvements," member of the House of Representatives (DPR) Mukhamad Misbakhun of the Golkar Party noted in a written statement here on Thursday.
The government should take precautionary measures to address various risks arising from the economic recession to prevent pressures on the economic sector from spilling over to other sectors, he affirmed.
"The most important aspect is a solution (to the recession). Serious efforts should be undertaken to bring about improvements in all economic sectors. The negative indicatives of recession must be mitigated, so the economic recession will not protract," he remarked.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed that the Indonesian economy had contracted 3.49 percent (yoy) in the third quarter of 2020.
Thus, Indonesia officially fell into recession akin to that experienced by various countries battered by the COVID-19 pandemic since it had recorded negative growth for two consecutive quarters, BPS Head Suhariyanto stated at a press conference earlier in the day.
The Indonesian economy contracted 5.32 percent yoy in the second quarter of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Misbakhun remarked that the BPS announcement came as no surprise since finding a solution to the economic problem should be the more important step to be taken by the government currently.
As forecast earlier, the Indonesian economy will contract in the third quarter of 2020 and the country would fall into recession.
"Now is not the time to debate over the definition of recession anymore," he remarked.
The member of the House’s Commission XI affirmed that pressures on economic growth emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic after several countries imposed social restriction and lockdown policies.
"It is the pandemic that causes prolonged economic uncertainty and exerts deep pressures on economic growth, thereby leading to a recession," he stated.
The government had made all-out efforts to curb the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by raising the amount of budget funds for social assistance; capital assistance for micro, small, and medium businesses; and health budget for COVID-19 handling, he pointed out.
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Translator: Syaiful Hakim/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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