Indonesia announces cash handout, internship programme to stimulate economy

[JAKARTA] Indonesia on Friday (Oct 17) launched a new economic stimulus package that includes cash handouts totalling US$1.81 billion for 35 million households, and will also extend a paid internship scheme that began in September, its chief economic minister said.

The cash handouts will be distributed as early as next week and will last until the end of the year, Airlangga Hartarto told a press conference.

The new package comes on top of a nearly US$1 billion stimulus announced in September, which consisted of food assistance, temporary jobs in construction and also launched the paid internship programme.

The new stimulus will expand the internship programme to a total of 100,000 university graduates, up from 20,000 in the previous plan, Airlangga said.

South-east Asia’s largest economy was rocked by sometimes deadly protests from August to September, which some economists blamed on rising inequality and a lack of job opportunities, even though economic growth has stabilised at around 5 per cent since the pandemic.

President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to lift growth to 8 per cent during his term, which will last until 2029. REUTERS