Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has urged the police force, and more recently the regional government, to grant permits for sports and cultural events like concerts a month prior to the latest, so people would go spend their money rather than saving it in banks.

Jokowi said several event organizers had come to him, complaining that they had only secured the permits three or two days before D-Day. And the sluggish permits can hurt Indonesia’s chance of spurring household consumption this year after the removal of Covid-19 curbs. 

“I have instructed the National Police Chief [Listyo Sigit Prabowo], as well as the regional government, to issue the permit a month before the event. It would be even better if it was issued two months prior. So the organizers can better promote the event,” Jokowi said at a Provincial Government Association (APPSI) conference in Balikpapan on Thursday.

According to Jokowi, Indonesians last year had a whopping Rp 690 trillion ($45.4 billion) in savings. This shows that many people preferred to hold back their spending rather than dine out or have leisure activities. Indonesia’s household consumption stood at 4.93 percent in 2022. The government has set a goal to increase household consumption to 5.4 percent this year.

"We have to encourage people to spend as much as possible to trigger economic growth. We will have at least 3,000 sports and cultural events in 2023, which is great for our economy,” Jokowi said.

“No one should hold back granting these permits because this is related to getting people to spend that Rp 690 trillion, be it for concerts, football matches, or other sports events,” Jokowi said.

In end-2022, Indonesia lifted its Covid-19 curbs following a steady decline in daily new cases.

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