VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia had held a general election (Election) in 2019 which was successful and smooth. The conducive situation also indicates that the wheels of the economy in Indonesia are still running normally and the social conditions of the people remain optimistic towards the nation's future towards an increasingly good direction.

"We have just completed the largest and most complex election in the world. All Indonesian people are knitting unity to build a nation together, "Minister of Industry said as a speaker at the Nikkei Forum in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday (30/5) local time.

The presence of Airlangga Hartarto represented the Government of Indonesia, which was originally scheduled to be Vice President Jusuf Kalla, but was unable to attend. The international meeting was attended by a number of political, economic and academic leaders from the Asian region with the theme of the 25th International Conference on Future of Asia. Airlangga said, support for President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) from political parties in parliament was more than 60 percent. In fact, it will be even stronger because it will get additional support. "It seems that there will be an additional 20 percent from other parliamentarians. They have also prepared to support Mr Jokowi's government going forward, "he said.

According to Airlangga, the great support for President Jokowi shows that Indonesia's public trust in the government is still very large. This also reflects that Indonesia is on the right track to achieve its development goals. "As we have seen, the results of this year's Election of President Jokowi won with a considerable margin, almost 12 percent," he said.

With these results, Airlangga assured participants at the Nikkei Forum that the second period of President Jokowi's administration would seek more policy reform. Moreover, his government will also get great support from the regional government and the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD).

"Politics in Indonesia do seem complex, but with this victory, the government will soon take the effort to implement pro-investment and pro-business policies," he explained.

The Minister of Industry also said, for the implementation of the pro-investment policy, the Government of Indonesia has sought a lot of fiscal incentives for investors. For example, what will soon be launched is super deductible tax, which is a fiscal incentive for companies that actively conduct research and development activities to generate innovation and be involved in vocational education programs.

"For that, come to Indonesia, because we also have a very large market. The potential for business and huge profits is very attractive for foreign investors who invest their capital in Indonesia," he added.

Second period focus

Airlangga added, in the second period of President Jokowi's administration he would focus more on the development of Human Resources (HR), especially in the industrial sector, after the first period focused on infrastructure development.

"Because we got a demographic bonus. Excellence with the large population of young people in the workforce, which consists of millennials and generation Z who are ready to lead in the digital economy era, "he said.

With this bonus demography, Indonesia has great aspirations to become one of the 10 countries that have the strongest economy in the world in 2030. In fact, in 2045 or to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Indonesian Independence, it is projected that its economic strength will be ranked 4th .

"To meet the demographic bonus and create competent human resources in the industrial sector, the Ministry of Industry (Ministry of Industry) has conducted several strategic programs, including link and match vocational education, 3in1 training, and polytechnic development in industrial areas," he explained.

Through the program, the prepared HR can directly work in various industrial sectors, so that the workforce is created in accordance with the needs of today's industry. This is in accordance with the implementation of the priority programs contained in the map of Making Indonesia 4.0. With stable political and security conditions and the development of competent human resources, Airlangga is optimistic that Indonesia's economy will be far better in the future, especially under President Jokowi's leadership, which will also have a positive impact on investors from various countries.

During his working visit to Japan, the Minister of Industry has conducted several important meetings with various large-scale companies from Sakura Country, including Sojitz Corporation, Nippon Steel, Fujitrans, SMBC, Toyota and others. (kemenperin)