Textile industry players, who are members of the Indonesian Fiber and Filament Yarn Producers Association (APSyFI) have hopes for the presidential candidate (Capres) and vice presidential candidate (Cawapres) being elected in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Textile entrepreneurs ask that, in the future, they will no longer be ignored by the government. In this case, downstream policies are the main focus. Which is expected to reduce the gap.
The General Chair of APSyFI, Redma Gita Wirawasta, said that the current problem is the welfare gap. With the threat of increasing unemployment amidst population growth.
"In the future, it will be a question of the demographic bonus which has the potential to lead to unemployment. The answer will only be in the labor-intensive manufacturing industry that produces added value," said Redma in his statement, quoted Thursday (26/10/2023).
So far, he added, he has focused too much on the mining sector and CPO (crude palm oil). "Even though labor absorption is minimal and does not encourage downstreaming for added value," he said.
"The economy is growing only for a small group of people, not evenly, and not encouraging job creation," said Redma.
Because of this, he hopes that the future government will prioritize Indonesia's natural resources, including mining, oil and gas (oil and gas), and other natural products focused on encouraging downstream industry.
"That way we will get added value and create jobs in Indonesia, so that the economy grows more evenly," he said.
"So, these primary goods, including energy resources, are prioritized for supply to the country. Don't be rich yesterday. When the price of coal rises, the domestic market becomes the victim of not being given coal. In fact, the government increases the benchmark price. Gas too, the price "Domestic should not be more expensive than exports," said Redma.
He asked the government to prioritize natural resources and energy for the needs of domestic downstream and downstream industries.
"That way, our industry will grow strongly, integrated from upstream to downstream. At the same time, there will be optimization of added value, absorbing new workers, with quality investment," he said.
"So, we only need to take sides for the labor-intensive sector. Unlike now, we only need to take sides with mining and oil and gas entrepreneurs," concluded Redma.