Awaiting Jobs and Low Prices

· 3 minutes read

JAKARTA, KOMPAS—Prospective voters in the 2019 election are looking forward to detailed solutions from the two presidential candidates on the price of staple goods and job availability at the fifth and final presidential debate on Saturday (4/13/2019).

The two presidential candidates and their running mates, Joko Widodo and Ma\'ruf Amin, and Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno, are to attend the fifth debate, which will be held on the last day of the 2019 campaign period. The debate topics will cover issues on the economy and social welfare, finance and investment, and trade and industry.

A Kompas survey involving 534 respondents held on April 9-10 showed that the majority of respondents (61.42 percent) regarded economy and welfare as the most urgent issues, which broke down further into employment (32.21 percent) and the price of staple goods (31.09 percent) as the key issues for vice presidential candidates.

Institute of Indonesian Sciences (LIPI) economic researcher Latif Adam said the presidential candidates must be able to detail a holistic road map for stabilizing food prices as regards production, distribution and consumption.

“The campaigns’ use of the phrase \'inexpensive food\' must be heeded. This phrase cannot be allowed to turn into a disincentive for farmers, because farmers are consumers too,” he said on Thursday in Jakarta. The road map must therefore reflect measurable targets, such as price policy.

Latif said that the highlighted commodities were rice, chicken, eggs, chili and cooking oil. The price fluctuations in these food commodities needed a planned policy on price stability.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi B. Sukamdani pointed to the importance of creating jobs so that the workforce, which increased by 2 million people every year, could be absorbed optimally

“We see the potential for vocational education to create jobs. So, in addition to creating employment in the formal sector, opportunities for self-employment must also be [created],” he said.

Ready for details

Prabowo-Sandi campaign spokesperson Ferry Juliantono said that the pair would offer detailed policies on food price and employment during the fifth debate. The issue on the price of staple goods would be overcome by adopting Sandi’s Jakarta policy of making “food stations” (wholesale centers).

On employment, Prabowo-Sandi will focus on increasing jobs in the agriculture and natural resource industries. Prabowo-Sandi would ensure that fertilizers, seeds, pesticides and agricultural equipment would reach farmers.

Meanwhile, Jokowi-Ma’ruf campaign secretary Hasto Kristiyanto said the pair had prepared stringent debate points, particularly as the issues of the final debate could become ammunition for Prabowo-Sandi to criticize the government.

He said Jokowi-Ma’ruf would concentrate on economic and social welfare issues, which had been a key focus of the current Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla administration. The incumbent would present data on the achievements he had made during his first term in office to counter any criticism and arguments from Prabowo-Sandi. (SAN/AGE/JUD/NAD)

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