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Jokowi accuses rivals of creating rumors about decline in purchasing power
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has accused rival politicians of spreading rumors about declining consumer purchasing power as part of their strategy to win the legislative and presidential elections in 2019.
“If businesspeople talk about it, I will talk to them, but if politicians do so, it means it is their task to create rumors for the 2019 [elections],” said Jokowi when speaking at the national coordination meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in Jakarta on Tuesday as reported by tribunnews.com.
The debate on declining consumer purchasing power began when retailers complained about an insignificant increase in sales prior to Idul Fitri in June, which is usually the peak sales season, particularly for fashion and other consumer goods.
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said in June that sales of batik products, for instance, dropped 20 percent from last year's Idul Fitri.
Local retail firm Matahari department store announced last month that it would close its Mangarai and Blok M locations- both in South Jakarta – because of declining sales.
The government denied the decrease in sales was an indication of declining consumer purchasing power, arguing that people had shifted to online marketplaces.
“If there are shops that closed, it means they were unable to adapt to the [online] era,” Jokowi said. (bbn)
