OPINION

After facing daring protests in big cities practically all over the nation, President Xi decided to loosen the Zero Covid policy imposed by the People’s Republic of China. It seems this is not simply to calm down protests, but also to address the issue of high unemployment and a meager standard of annual economic growth, at just 3.9 per cent for 2022. Double-digit growth is history, and now even single digits are on the low side. 

Something does not sit right with the plan to raise the 2023 Hajj fee. The Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) proposes a 74% increase, from last year’s IDR 39.8 million to IDR 69.1 million this year. This increase makes no sense, particularly when the public is currently facing gruesome challenges, such as skyrocketing living costs, the threat of job loss and the 2023 economic recession.

Indonesia is one of the nations that participates actively in international fora, whether under the auspices of the UN or other fora that are not affiliated with the UN, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation/OIC, G 77, D-8, G-20, APEC, ASEAN, etc. The main takeaway from this engagement is to actively contribute to a world where there is peace and prosperity. 

It was recently reported that the Bank of England (BoE) has been losing credibility with the public, as it is considered ineffective in its stated policy to repress inflation. Despite a BoE decision to raise interest rates 75 basis points several times, that now reached 3 per cent, the highest in so many years, the UK inflation rate is still hovering at a bit over 11 per cent, almost twice as high as the rate in the US. I think the unemployment rate also higher than that of the US.

Public transportation subsidies are, ideally, provided for people taking public transportation to work. They can be differentiated – or not– depending on the Government’s political will and the readiness of the existing budget. 

Sometime back I wrote in a column here that the recession in the US Economy will be mild when there was still concern regarding EU economies. But lately, even in EU there seems more hope that economic recession in EU countries will also be mild. Unemployment may still be relatively high, but inflation rate is also dissipating. 

Ever since the 1980s the conventional wisdom about economic policymaking has been, until recently, that neoliberalism is the best path towards achieving growth and prosperity. For many countries, especially in the West and also large emerging markets such as Indonesia, it was taken for granted that by deregulating capital markets, lowering trade barriers and privatizing state-owned enterprises the economic benefits would far outweigh the costs. 

Across many cities in China, including Beijing and Shanghai, hundreds of thousands of young people have recently been marching in protest against President Xi Jinping’s policy of “zero Covid”. Broadening the protest, the occasion has been also optimized to stand against a controlled press, symbolized by waving a white sheet of paper everywhere. In a city in central China ten people reportedly died when a building was on fire: rescuers could not reach the victims, partly because of the rigid rules characterizing the “zero-Covid” policy. 

The world is panicking over the new variants of COVID-19 Omicrons XBB from China. Countries in America and Europe remain alert, implementing strict fight protocols from China. 

The G20 Summit meetings in Bali ended, not with a “bang”, but it certainly should be applauded for having come up with a communique sufficiently strong in its condemnation of Russia’s Ukraine invasion. China and Saudi Arabia, tending to lean toward Russia, did in the end sign the declaration, making it solid. The Financial Times, in its report, commended the tireless efforts by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and India’s PM Modi, who successfully argued that the economic impacts of the war, such as an impaired export of grain from Ukraine, due to Russian blockage of Mariupol, which resulted in a food crisis, turned out to be a strong weapon in the matter. This, along with smooth management of the Conference, are commendable indeed. Of course, one should not forget the side-line meetings of Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, clarifying their respective stands on important issues like Taiwan, South China Sea and trade, as well as meetings between President’s Xi and Emmanuel Macron and others, are also aspects demonstrating the success of the Bali G20 Summit. Indonesia’s transfer of the G20 Presidency to India was carried out promptly. 

This author once read Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) General Chairman Prabowo Subianto’s presentation on “A Masterplan for Indonesian Economic Rescue and Awakening: A Big-Push Strategy”. He presented this idea before Indonesian President Joko Widodo and ten leaders of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).