Borneonews - Jakarta, Member of the People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia, Habib Idrus Salim Al Jufri, underlined the importance of job creation as the main focus for the new government which will be led by Prabowo and Gibran. He suggested that the government integrate this program in their agenda for the period 2024 to 2029.

Habib believes that job creation is very crucial, especially in the context of the high number of layoffs (PHK) and the decline in people's purchasing power that has been seen, marked by deflation that has occurred over the last five months. According to him, the current economic conditions are far from expectations. He noted that the phenomenon of increasing layoffs must be handled seriously. "Job creation is the best solution to reduce unemployment and increase people's income," he said.

Based on data from the Ministry of Manpower, during the period January to November 2023; as many as 57,923 people were reported to have experienced layoffs. Most of these layoffs occurred in the Central Java region, followed by DKI Jakarta and Banten Province. In DKI Jakarta, the service sector such as restaurants and cafes experienced the most layoffs, while in Central Java, the sectors most affected were manufacturing, textiles, garments and footwear.

In addition, in the period January to August 2024, the number of workers affected by layoffs reached 46,240 people. In response to this, Habib is committed to fighting for the provision of employment opportunities as one of his work programs as a people's representative. "I want to open up as many job opportunities as possible for the community. As a first step, we will focus on my electoral district, Banten III (Greater Tangerang)," he stressed.

Furthermore, Habib also called on the new government to pay more attention to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are considered to have a major contribution to the national economy. He explained that MSMEs absorb around 97 percent of Indonesia's total workforce. In addition, MSMEs account for around 60.4 percent of total investment and contribute 61 percent to Indonesia's Gross Domestic Income (GDP). "Therefore, it is very important to prioritize MSMEs in every future economic policy and program," concluded Habib.

(SOURCE)