Tangerang. A senior executive of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) has called on the government to abolish the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Ministry, arguing that support for small businesses has become a political slogan rather than a policy agenda backed by measurable results.

Hadi Nainggolan, head of the Food Task Force at Hipmi's central executive board, proposed replacing the ministry with a Ministry of Entrepreneurs to shift the government's focus toward concrete measures to develop businesses and strengthen the competitiveness of Indonesian entrepreneurs.

Hadi said government policies aimed at supporting MSMEs should be accompanied by clear indicators to measure business growth and the progress of entrepreneurs.

He argued that MSMEs have frequently featured in political rhetoric without sufficient concrete data to demonstrate whether businesses are actually growing or becoming more competitive.

"It's time to abolish the MSME Ministry and replace it with a Ministry of Entrepreneurs," Hadi said during a discussion at the BTV studio in Tangerang on Tuesday.

"This is so MSMEs are no longer treated as a political commodity, with everyone claiming to 'love MSMEs and care about MSMEs' while there is no concrete data that allows us to measure their growth," he added.

According to Hadi, establishing a Ministry of Entrepreneurs would encourage the government to reassess its approach to MSME development and prioritize measurable outcomes, including business expansion and improvements in competitiveness.

The MSME Ministry is currently headed by Maman Abdurrahman, a politician from the Golkar Party.

The ministry previously formed part of a combined portfolio overseeing cooperatives and MSMEs. President Prabowo Subianto subsequently separated the two functions, with Ferry Juliantono serving as cooperatives minister. 

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