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Stop talking politics, start investing: Jokowi to businesspeople
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo smiles as he speaks to the media in this file photo. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has advised businesspeople to not talk about politics and to instead concentrate on improving the economy through investment.
“I always tell businesspeople to not talk about politics. Just talk about the economy,” said Jokowi as reported by kontan.co.id on Monday.
Jokowi said he would hold a road show to meet with businesspeople in a number of cities in September to encourage them to invest.
“What else? They only need to disburse money to expand and pursue opportunities. Why should they continue to have a wait-and-see attitude?” he added.
Speaking about people’s low purchasing power, Jokowi said 70 percent of the country’s funds was in the hands of the private sector, while the state budget only shared 30 percent.
“If they want to invest, purchasing power will increase,” the President added.
He, however, said the government would help improve people’s purchasing power by disbursing assistance to 10 million low-income people.
He also mentioned the government’s assistance to 19 million students through the Indonesia Smart Card (KIP), which would also be disbursed next year.
The government will also increase village funds to Rp 60 trillion (US$4.49 billion) next year from Rp 20 trillion. (bbn)
