VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A screenshot of President Joko Widodo on Saturday (January 29, 2022). He said has the government is working hard to oversee a major transformation in Indonesia that will enable the nation to compete at the global level. (ANTARA/Indra Arief) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said that he is optimistic the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) will find new ways and strategies to face the rapid changes and challenges the world is witnessing currently.

He made the remarks while opening the ICMI's national working meeting virtually from the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Saturday.

"The challenges we are facing, including those that will be faced by ICMI in the future, are increasingly difficult; but ICMI, as a forum of scholars, will always be able to find new ways, new strategies for facing challenges and the fast-changing world today," the President remarked.

The theme of the ICMI's national working meeting is in accordance with the agenda of the nation, namely transformation for finding the right way to deal with the changing times, challenges, and opportunities, he noted.

Change often comes unexpectedly, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that has raged across the world, including in Indonesia, for the last two years, Jokowi said.

“There are many things that are beyond our imagination when we make plans. Uncertainty can come suddenly without us expecting it,” he added.

He further said that he believes that victory can be achieved by the Indonesian people not only thanks to good planning, but also because of the speed of transformation and adaptation to existing challenges and opportunities.

He also emphasized the importance of working efficiently and effectively, as well as utilizing the capabilities of scholars and technology.

He assured that the government is working hard to oversee a major transformation in Indonesia that will enable the nation to compete at the global level, which is getting increasingly hypercompetitive.

“We have to open the widest possible job opportunities, we have to prosper the farmers, fishermen, industrial workers. We must facilitate MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) actors to advance to digitalization. We must support domestic products increase. Hence, we must facilitate large, medium, and small investments from within and outside the country," he added.

Indonesia's structural transformation agendas include cessation of raw material exports for the sake of industrial downstreaming, transformation of the digital economy, and the construction of the State Capital (IKN) in East Kalimantan, Jokowi said.

“The capital city development (IKN) program is an important part of that transformation. The IKN program is not just moving buildings, moving the government. Moving the capital is changing the way of working, changing the mindset based on a modern economy, and building a more just and inclusive social life," he remarked//ANT