Gov’t Provides Economic Assistance Schemes for People, President Jokowi Says

President Jokowi takes selfie with residents when distributing 600 Smallholder Business Credit (KUR) at Miftahul Huda Islamic Boarding School, Manonjaya, Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java, Wednesday (27/2). (Photo: Agung/PR)

The Indonesian Government has provided several economic assistance schemes for the people, including the Fostering the Economy of the Prosperous Family (known as Mekaar), the Ultra Micro (UMi) program, the Smallholder Business Credit (KUR) program, and the Micro Waqf Bank, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

For the Mekaar program alone, according to the President, the amount of loan is small, ranging from Rp2 million to Rp8 million.

“Mekaar is a micro credit intended for street vendors,” President Jokowi said during the distribution of 600 KUR for People’s Food Security and Economy at Miftahul Huda Islamic Boarding School, Manonjaya, Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java province, Wednesday (27/2).

Meanwhile, small home industries can apply for UMi credit with smaller amounts of loans and for those with bigger businesses, they can apply the KUR scheme with the amount of loan up to Rp500 million, the President added.

However, President Jokowi reminded the people to use the loan money carefully only for business capital and always pay the installment on time.

The President added that the Government also provides social assistance called Micro Waqf Bank, which has been established in 44 Islamic boarding schools across Indonesia.

“One school is provided with loans amounting to approximately Rp8 billion to be distributed for the people living in the Islamic boarding schools and the surrounding areas,” the President said, adding that the program has been running for two years and will be evaluated.

In the meantime, in a bid to improve the quality of human resources of Islamic boarding schools’ students and surrounded communities, the Government, he added, has also established dozens of job training centers (BLK) to equip the students with hard skills, in addition to soft skills and character education that have already been taught at school. “The Government is planning to create a thousand BLKs this year and next year the number will be tripled to 3,000 BLKs,” he said.

President Jokowi further said that Indonesia is facing an intense global competition; thus, the quality of its human resources must be improved so that Indonesian people will be able to compete both at domestic markets and overseas markets. (OJI/AGG/ES)

Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Edited by: Muhardi
Proofread by: M. Ersan Pamungkas