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Indonesia's president Joko Widodo — commonly known as Jokowi — has made a special appeal to his citizens: spend as much money as possible.
According to Bloomberg, Jokowi told provincial governors on Feb. 23 that there was about 690 trillion rupiah (S$61 billion) in personal savings accounts that Indonesians were not using, having "hit the brakes" on spending in 2022.
However, the President declared an end to the "saving phase", reported Antara News, and urged Indonesians to use that money on shopping, concerts, and sporting events to create stronger economic growth within the country.
"They don’t want to shop, don’t want to come to restaurants, don’t want to come to markets, don’t want to come to malls – no, better keep it in the bank," he said, according to Bloomberg.
"This is not allowed. We must encourage the public to spend as much as possible to trigger our economic growth."
Growing public consumption to 5.4 per cent
In the meeting with the governors, Jokowi reminded them of the obligation to increase household spending; the government is aiming to raise public consumption from 4.93 per cent in 2022 to 5.4 per cent by 2024.
"If this happens, then economic growth will automatically increase. Therefore, matters related to public spending should not be held back by regional governments," he was cited by Antara News as saying.
Bloomberg reported that Jokowi has now ordered the national police to approve event permits faster — at least a month in advance — so that marketing for events can be done more effectively.
This year, Indonesia will play host to the Fifa Under-20 World Cup as well as concerts for Korean superstars Blackpink and BTS's Suga.
The president is also hoping that the return of international and domestic travel will boost the economy and has called for small businesses to set up booths at popular tourist spots so that visitors will be encouraged to spend more.
Top image from Jokowi's Facebook page and by Sasha India via Unsplash