President Jokowi hands out three thousand land certificates in East Java

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) handed out land certificates as a means to offer legal certainty to three thousand people from Sidoarjo, Malang District, Malang City, and Gresik at Gelora Delta Stadium, Sidoarjo, East Java, Monday.

As quoted from a statement received from the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat here on Monday, the president appealed to the public to use the certificate wisely, including while applying for loans to banks as investment and business capital.

"Please borrow it from a bank, if you get (for example) Rp100 million (US$6.7 thousand), use it as working capital, use it as investment capital, use it as business capital," he emphasized.

Jokowi also urged the public to thoroughly contemplate before using the land certificate as collateral for a loan.

Furthermore, he reminded the people to not use the loan for consumptive purposes.

"(For instance, you get a loan of) Rp500 million (US$33.5 thousand), some Rp250 million (US$16.7 thousand) of which is spent to buy a new car. (You may feel) happy (and) dashing while driving (the car) around the village, but that (the feeling) is only (valid for) six months. Believe me. After that, you cannot pay the bank (loan) instalment, you cannot pay the car instalments, and that is when the disaster begins," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Hadi Tjahjanto said in his report that the distribution of certificates was part of the stimulus to revive the people's economy in line with the declining number of COVID-19 cases.

"(This is) because with land certificates, people have the opportunity to get access to financing in addition to legal certainty for their land," he noted.

The event was also attended by State Secretary Minister Pratikno, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and Head of Sidoarjo District Ahmad Muhdlor Ali. (*)