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Prabowo inks regulation to cancel debts of farmers, fishermen
President Prabowo Subianto has inked a regulation on debt relief for individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in farming, fishing and plantation sectors.
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Former president Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo and President Prabowo Subianto pose for a photograph in Surakarta, Central Java, on Nov. 3. (The Jakarta Post/Twitter/Jokowi)
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resident Prabowo Subianto has inked a regulation to cancel debts of individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in farming, fishing and plantations.
The measure aimed at improving access to new loans for small businesses across the country is laid out in Government Regulation No. 47/2024 on MSME debt forgiveness, which was signed on Tuesday.
“The government hopes it can help our brothers and sisters, the producers working in farming, MSMEs and fishermen, who are very important food producers. They can continue their business and become more useful for the nation and the country,” said Prabowo, according to a press statement released by the Cabinet Secretariat following the signing.
The statement adds that the detailed technicalities and conditions would be determined by relevant ministries and government agencies.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Maman Abdurrahman said on Tuesday that the regulation only concerned loans from state-owned banks and that debt forgiveness would apply to a maximum debt of Rp 500 million (US$31,595) for business entities and Rp 300 million for individuals.
“I have to stress, so it does not become confusing, that [the forgiveness] applies to MSMEs in the farming, fisheries and plantation sectors who went through some trouble, for example earthquakes, natural disasters and COVID-19,” Maman told reporters at the State Palace.
“Not all MSMEs will get debts canceled, [only the ones] who are beyond help,” he said, explaining that the forgiveness would only apply to MSMEs that had no capacity to pay back loans that had been written off by state-owned banks.
