Maintaining Economic Stability

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Visitors shop for groceries in a retail shopping center in the North Serpong area, South Tangerang, Banten, Wednesday (05/08/2019). Household spending is supporting economic growth. According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), consumer spending contributed 2.75 percent to economic growth in the first quarter of 2019, amounting to 5.07 percent.

The political atmosphere is relatively calm after the April 17 elections. Now, it\'s time for us to turn our attention to economic issues.

Economic growth in the first quarter of this year, according to Statistics Indonesia, stood at 5.07 percent. This figure is below the government\'s target, which is 5.3 percent, although it is slightly better than the first quarter of last year of 5.06 percent. There had been hope that economic growth in the first quarter would be higher owing to the elections.

International development does not give too much hope. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have lowered their global economic growth projections. This was related to the United States government’s move to raise import duties on goods and services from China and the tightening of economic sanctions against Iran.

Considering the situation, we must increase domestic economic power, which is actually very strong. We have a large number of markets, natural resources and huge number of workers that are in their productive age.

We need higher economic growth, stability, no turbulence and sustainability because we face the challenges of population growth, the poor population that is still above 25.5 million people, as well as inequality between urban and rural areas, Java-outside Java, between jobs and between gender.

Although the official recapitulation of the election results has yet to be announced, the government must not pause its work. What must be kept in mind is mainly the people, especially those that are vulnerable in terms of social economy. They can\'t wait because they live a subsistent life.

To safeguard this group, there is no other choice but for the government to maintain the stability and price of energy and food. The price of electricity and fuel for transportation must remain affordable for the poor and low-income people, in addition to the continuity of supply. So are the costs and supply of electricity and fuel for industry.

Food is a vital requirement for every human, therefore there should be supplies and prices should be affordable. Nutrition needs to be improved, especially in rural areas, going beyond the consumption and production of rice. It would be better if they increased protein consumption. In addition to being important for improving the quality of human resources, a growth in protein consumption will also drive other food sectors.

Short-term strategies and policies are needed considering the Cabinet will end its term of office in October. The president-elect has a responsibility and heavy duty because there are challenges from the outside and from the inside in the form of the current account deficit. Exports will face severe challenges due to global issues, while foreign direct investment requires time to materialize. For the short term, in this transition period, food and energy strategies and policies deserve to be the focus because they can rely more on domestic resources.