The World Bank, IMF, and UN have conveyed this. I recently received information that the economies of 60 countries will collapse, 42 of which are on the verge of collapseJakarta (ANTARA) - The economies of 60 countries are in danger of collapsing, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
"The World Bank, IMF, and UN have conveyed this. I recently received information that the economies of 60 countries will collapse, 42 of which are on the verge of collapse," the president stated at the opening of the 2021 National Working Meeting (Rakernas) of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at the PDI-P Central Leadership Council Party School in Lenteng Agung here on Tuesday.
The president emphasized that Indonesia should be careful to not fall into a group of countries whose economies are in danger of collapsing.
"Who will help them when they have 42 (the collapsed countries)? International institutions may be able to help if only one, two, or three countries are in crisis. However, if the number has reached 42 countries, or even 60 (countries), we do not know what we should do," he affirmed.
Hence, President Jokowi urged PDI-P cadres to be careful and step up vigilance.
Related news: Food resilience budget must beneficially be used: President Jokowi
"There is something we really need to know. I think Megawati (Megawati Soekarnoputri) has reminded all of us about that. Be careful about this that we are not in a normal position," he stressed.
The president cautioned of a potential crisis due to changes in global conditions.
"Once (a country) has a financial crisis, then a food crisis, then an energy crisis, it is terrible. I think we all know, there have been one, two, three countries that have experienced that. They have no foreign exchange reserves, cannot buy fuel, cannot buy food, cannot import food even though all food and energy had been imported. Then, they are also trapped in very high debt loans," he stated.
Jokowi cited the example of fuel prices in Indonesia that are relatively low, including Pertalite, which is still Rp7,650 per liter and Pertamax at Rp12,500 per liter.
Related news: Committed to cooking oil, fuel subsidies despite fiscal burden: Widodo
"Be careful, this is not the actual price. This is the price we subsidize, and the subsidy is huge. I want to give a comparison of the gasoline prices. The price of fuel in Indonesia, Pertalite is Rp7,650, Pertamax is Rp12,500-13,000, while in Singapore, the price of gasoline has reached Rp31 thousand; in Germany, the price of gasoline has also reached Rp31 thousand; and in Thailand, it is Rp20 thousand. We are still at Rp7,650. However, we must remember this, our subsidies to fuel are very large," he explained.
The president said the fuel price subsidy was very large, reaching Rp502 trillion.
"The subsidies are huge. This can be used to build a capital city. Then, how long can we survive with this total subsidy? If we do not realize this number, we cannot realize how serious the problem is today. We need Rp466 trillion to build the capital city (Nusantara). Meanwhile (Rp502 trillion) is for subsidies. However, we have to subsidize this fuel because we are also considering the socio-political impact (if this fuel is not subsidized)," he remarked.
Related news: 5 state leaders sought Indonesian coal in January : President
Related news: Government spending on fuel subsidies is huge: Jokowi
Translator: Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
