Indonesia’s preemployment card program, a social safety net offering aid similar to unemployment benefits, saw an immediate spike in interest within a few days of its launch, as 2.8 million people have lost their jobs nationwide as a result of businesses temporarily halting operations. Just a day after the program was launched on Saturday, 1.4 million people applied for benefits worth a total of Rp 3.5 million (US$223)  — to be given for four months — in the first registration phase, according to data from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister. The program, which was part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s campaign pledge, initially aimed at providing Indonesian workers the necessary skills training for work. “Our objective is slightly shifting,” Denni Puspa Purbasari, the president director of the program’s management. “We initially wanted to reduce youth unemployment, but now we were also focusing on furloughed workers, those who have lost their jobs or small entrepreneurs who have lost customers.” With a budget of Rp 20 trillion, the program will cover 5.6 million participants.