President Prabowo Leads Limited Meeting to Discuss Solutions for MSMEs, Control of Imported Used Goods

President Prabowo Subianto holds a limited meeting with several ministers of the Red and White Cabinet at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday (11/4). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

President Prabowo Subianto, Tuesday (11/4), held a limited meeting with several ministers of the Red and White Cabinet at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta. During the meeting, the Head of State delivered several main directives, one of which was the protection and empowerment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including enforcement against imported used goods and accelerated national MSME digitalization system.

The Minister of MSMEs, Maman Abdurrahman, said that one of President Prabowo’s main directives was to ensure that the control action taken against imported used goods would not negatively impact small businesses. President Prabowo, Maman said, asked for the Government to formulate concrete solutions in the form of local product substitutes that can be sold by traders who have been relying on secondhand goods.

“One of the directives from the President is considering product substitutions while applying restrictions on imported used goods and clothing,” Maman told the media in a press statement after the meeting.

He added that President Prabowo ordered the Ministry of MSMEs to ensure that thrifting traders can still survive by selling domestic-made products. He emphasized that the Government does not want to stifle the economic activity of thrifting traders, but rather directs them to support local industries.

“The Government cannot simply leave the entrepreneurs working in the field. So, the President ordered the Ministry of MSMEs, in this case me, the Coordinating Minister, under his command, to prepare solutions for them to continue selling on the market. However, they are regulated to sell our domestic products,” he said.

Furthermore, President Prabowo also emphasized the importance of accelerating digitalization in services for MSMEs. He asked that the integrated single data system, Sapa UMKM, be implemented immediately to facilitate various services for these business actors.

“The President said that there are 57 million entrepreneurs of MSMEs across Indonesia, so conventional methods are no longer effective. Therefore, utilizing technology and digitalization methods is required to provide services and protection,” said Maman.

Through Sapa UMKM, various services, such as licensing, financing, and product marketing access will be integrated into a single digital-based national system. “The President has pushed to implement such system immediately,” he added.

During the meeting, President Prabowo also focused on increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs through easier access to licensing and certification. Maman said the President instructed the processes for halal certification, BPOM (Indonesian Food and Drugs Authority) permits, PIRT (Home Industry Food) permits, and Indonesian National Standards (SNI) to be expedited and simplified.

“The President also instructed to facilitate access to permits for MSMEs related to certification, BPOM permits, halal certification, PIRT permits, SNI, and so on. What is this for? To increase the competitiveness of our MSMEs,” he said.

In addition, the President also instructed to soon execute the MSME debt write-off program according to the initial plan. Based on preliminary data, approximately 67,000 MSMEs have been registered for this program, but the potential number is much larger.

“Currently, the number is still at 67,000 MSMEs. Based on data from Himbara (Association of State-Owned Banks), we have approximately 1 million MSMEs that can have their debts written off. We will follow up on that,” said Maman. (BPMI of the Presidential Secretariat) (JAS/MMB)