SBY PRESIDENCY.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) unveiled on Friday an ambitious plan to transform Indonesia into a developed nation by the year 2025 and continue the reform era currently promoted aggressively nationwide.The President made the statement in his state of the nation address at the House of Representative building in conjunction with the commemoration of the country’s 64 Independence Day this Monday.
“God willing, in 2025, the condition of our life as a nation and state will be much better.”
SBY pointed out 10 “tips” to meet the target, including improving security, economy, people’s welfare and good governance.
“Let us not repeat the ‘dark’ history of conflicts as happening in Poso [Central Sulawesi], Ambon [Maluku], Sampit (Central Kalimantan) or Aceh,” he said, referring to the first key to maintaining the country’s social harmony.
Also attending the session were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Speaker of the House of Representatives Agung Laksono, House members, foreign ambassadors and other government officials.
Despite the recent brutal bombing attacks, Yudhoyono praised his administration’s achievement in creating security during the last five years, which played important roles in improving the country’s economy and cutting the unemployment rate.
SBY explained the country had managed to cut the poverty rate from 16.7 percent in 2004 to 14.1 percent in March 2009.
“The unemployment rate has also went down from 9.9 percent in 2004 to 8.1 percent in February 2009.”
In term of economic growth, Yudhoyono said the country would focus on more productive and self-reliant economic activities.
He also discussed the increasing index of corruption perception ranked by Transparency International, highlighting that 2004, Indonesia was included in the 10 worst corrupt countries in the world.
“And in 2008, Indonesia was the 55th rank from the bottom.
“The government will also be free from all forms of criminal acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism in the future.”
“We should be able to create such Indonesia when we can reinforce the three pillars of our life: self-reliance, competitiveness, and superior civilization.”
The self-reliance, the President cited as an example, should have been maintained and consolidated as a “foundation of our strength, resilience, and competence to keep moving forward as a nation”.
“We cannot be heavily dependent on other countries, let alone on the world. In the longer future, with our resources and cultural strength at our disposal, we want to be able to enhance continuously our self-reliance as a nation.”
He said Indonesia should be able to become a nation which could meet most of its basic needs and not be ensnared with burdening debt.
“We want to be a nation that is not dictated, whether politically, economically or militarily by any country whatsoever.”
However, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Effendy Simbolon, remained pessimistic.
“SBY’s speech is too normative. There has not been any breakthrough on actions to meet the promised target. In the last five years, indicators for economic growth and security were still unmoved; so how could they move further with such an ambitious target?”
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