"The central (government) must record various economic potentials from all provinces, especially with regard to MSMEs. This is necessary to do, so that Indonesia is free from reliance on imported products," Governor Kamil noted during a speech at the commemoration of the MSME National Day 2022 in Bandung City on Friday.
Governor Kamil stated that in the midst of the global economic turmoil, the domestic economy would suffer, should it still depend on foreign goods.
"The world is not doing well. In order not to become trapped by other countries, the key is to increase domestic trade," he stated.
To this end, his appealed to the central government to record the potential of each province, particularly with regard to MSMEs, with the objective of making each region aware of products that could be sourced domestically, so they would not need to import.
"Thus, when we need something, we know where the item is. There is no need to buy it from China," he stated.
His administration ensured that cooperation of each province contributed significantly in optimizing economic growth, especially in revitalizing MSMEs.
The governor cited some countries as examples, all of which had taken a beating due to their weak MSMEs sector.
"The key is that our trade is not dependent on outsiders. If we can maximize it by ourselves, we are safe. Hence, Mr. Minister (Teten Masduki), I need data. What does Papua need, God willing, in West Java it is available," he remarked.
In response to Kamil's appeal, Cooperatives and SMEs Minister Teten Masduki ensured that the government continued to make efforts to boost MSMEs, including by recording every potential in each region.
"We need interregional data. Right now, we do not have it yet. This year, we are targeting data of 14 million MSMEs. Hence, distribution permits, halal certification, and business registration numbers, (all of these) we have to immediately (record), and we have to (do it right away)," Masduki responded.
He affirmed that optimizing the domestic MSME sector would have a significant impact on economic growth.
"If Rp400 trillion is spent on MSMEs, then it can help to record an economic growth of 1.58 percent or (create) more than one million jobs, without any new investment," he elaborated.
He reiterated the government's commitment to optimizing MSMEs. He also said that his administration aimed at improving them, both in terms of quantity and quality.
"We will strive to facilitate MSMEs, so they can easily have access to capital. An incubation approach integrated with financing and markets is needed. It is no longer just training," Masduki explained.
The minister said that he would further introduce digitalization to MSMEs, as the potential value of the digital economy in 2030 would reach Rp5,400 trillion.
"However, currently, imported products constitute more than 10 percent of e-commerce. Therefore, we must improve our production, so that this large digital market can offer benefits. Moreover, the implementation of education, property, transportation, and health, is now based on technology. These are MSMEs' aspects that we must reinforce," he concluded.
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Translator: Ajat Sudrajat, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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