Half-Hearted Support for Small Businesses

The revocation of some regional regulations by the home affairs ministry came as a boon as well as a source of regret for Tatang Yusuf, who owns a traditional herbal medicine factory. On one hand, the repeal of those regulations makes it easier for him to apply for licenses at Cilacap, Central Java, where Tatang's factory operates. He is happy because it is now easier for herbal medicine producers at the Gentasari Village Jamu Aneka Sari Cooperative to obtain the environmental authorization, a condition for obtaining a production license.

Before the three regional regulations of the Cilacap Regency were repealed, applying to start a factory meant having to pass the environmental management and monitoring (UKL-UPL) license, which costs Rp18-25 million. Tatang had to pay that amount when he applied for a production license for Bumi Wijaya, his herbal medicine factory at Gentasari Village, last year.