Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia on Distribution of Working Capital Assistance , Tuesday, 29 September 2020 at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province

First Session

Bismillahirahmanirahim,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good afternoon,

May peace be upon us all,

Distinguished Minister of Cooperative and Small Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki,

Distinguished Minister of State Secretary Professor Pratikno,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

First I would like to thank you all for being here at the Bogor Palace. Second, I acknowledge that all of you own vendors. Who? Many of you. Street vendors? Yes. What else? Market vendors? Yes. Ok.

We are aware that we are currently facing COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone feels the impacts of the pandemic, including all of you, right? This pandemic occurs not only in Indonesia, but also in 215 countries in the world. The condition is exactly the same (in all countries). The difficulties, the challenges are are similar. It does not only affect micro enterprises, but also medium and big enterprises. All are in the same boat.

Therefore, amid the current condition, we should work harder. We should hold on and work harder. I have heard similar questions. I have met thousands of micro and small enterprises. Everyone is experiencing decline in revenue, be it half, one third or quarter of the usual revenue. And it is experienced by medium as well as big enterprises.

Therefore, the most important thing is to keep up the spirit. And, God willing, in December the vaccines will begin to be produced. By next year, when the conditions returns to normal, do not lose your momentum. It means that when business is back to normal, you already spend all your working capital instead. This is what you must calculate correctly. Businesses may go up and down. That’s normal, I have also experienced it. I used to be like all of you, so I understand. Once again, do not let your working spirit be dampened. Go on with your business. Do not stop. It is okay to only have small revenue as long as it is not closed down. Because once it is closed, it will be even more difficult to start again at normal condition early next year.

That concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion.

I thank you.

Second Session

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Good afternoon,

May peace be upon us all,

Distinguished Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Mr. Teten Masduki,

Distinguished Minister of State Secretary Professor Pratikno,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude for your presence at the Bogor Palace. I know, if we compare with previous normal circumstances, current business is really in a very difficult, unfavorable position, right? However, we must understand that almost all countries, 215 countries worldwide are experiencing the same situation with us. Not only micro and small businesses but also medium and the big ones, all of which are also in difficult conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, I invite you all not to give up, keep up the spirit and do not let the condition dampen your spirit. You may have sales turnover of Rp500,000 per day previously but now only Rp200,000. You may have profit selling of Rp200,000 previously but now only Rp100,000. Still, everyone experiences it. I am aware and fully understand that that what happened on the ground, (and) all countries are experiencing the same way. The big and medium enterprises are also in the same conditions.

Therefore, do not be discouraged, never give up, everyone must work harder. And we hope that once vaccination is done, God willing, at the end of this year or early next year, the situations will begin to improve and return to normal. Hence, in such a condition, do not let your business closed because it will take time to rebuild it from scratch. Therefore, I ask all of us to survive. Someone told me earlier, “Mr. President, now I only earn Rp75,000 a day. Normally, I earn Rp300,000 a day.” I told you, we must be grateful for what we achieve now, alhamdulillah. We have to survive and work even harder during these conditions.

I know that some of you are home business owners. I repeat, all of housewives are home business owners. Oh, that gentleman too, that lady too. Any street vendor? There are also a lot of street vendors. Any hawkers? No one? Any market traders? No one? Okay. All businesses are experiencing the same conditions today, be it big, medium, small, or micro. I ask each of them. I always inspect the situation on the ground and I ask one by one firsthand.

To that end, today we distribute the working capital assistance. Have all of you received it? Do you? Yes. Have you been told about the amount of the assistance? The amount is Rp2.4 million. And we hope that with this additional working capital assistance, you can sell more products. In the future, when the conditions return to normal, you are already prepared, from the previous 60 to 100 products. That way, it makes your products even more attractive to buyers.

Therefore, the most important thing is that the working capital assistance can really be used for productive things, tailored to the needs of each business.

I think that concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. Once again, thank you for your presence.

And that concludes my remarks.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Translated by : Estu Widyamurti & Galuh Wicaksono H
Reviewed by : M. Ersan Pamungkas & Muhardi