The Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Board, Bahlil Lahadahlia admitted that the post-pandemic economic recovery is not an easy thing. However, he is optimistic that economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 will be able to reach 4.5-5 percent. "In the fourth quarter, I believe it will grow at 4.5 to 5 percent," said Bahlil in a webinar delivering the results of the Indonesian Political Indicators survey, Sunday (9/1). Bahlil expressed his confidence based on Indonesia's economic growth in the third quarter which reached 3.5 percent. He admitted that he was grateful for the achievement of economic growth, even though previously the domestic economy had been disrupted due to the implementation of PPKM in several regions. "What happened? We saw that our export-import growth was 50 percent, our investment growth was around 5-6 percent, then our consumption did fall by only 1 percent, government spending was not optimal, but in the fourth quarter it will certainly be far better than the third quarter," he said.
Bahlil realizes that not all people are satisfied with the current government's performance. However, he ensured that economic growth was gradually improving. "This means that the Jokowi government under the leadership of the President, leading us as members of the cabinet, can slowly carry out economic strategic steps towards better improvements," he said. Previously, the Indonesian Political Indicator released the results of the latest national survey. In the survey held in December 2021, it is known that the majority of respondents perceive the national economic condition as bad. "A total of 33 percent of our society views the state of the national economy as still bad, saying that it's approximately 24 percent good or very good," said Executive Director Burhanuddin Muhtadi in an online webinar, Sunday (9/1). However, if you look at the trend, Burhanuddin said respondents who perceive bad national economic conditions continue to experience a decline. Previously, in May 2020, it was known that the national economic condition had been perceived as bad, up to 81 percent. But in the latest survey, the figure is already at 33.2 percent. "So this is the good news that there is an ongoing economic recovery process but there are still more to say bad than good," he said.
