Indonesia is expected to balance its higher education with that of Vietnam, as the latter is considered to have advanced science and technology and continues to experience rapid development.
"Indonesia needs to imitate the system of education in Vietnam, in order to continue to grow and progress," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani stated, after opening the National Working Meeting of the Ministry of Research and Technology and High Education (Kemenristekdikti) 2018 at the University of North Sumatra (USU) in Medan, on Wednesday.
So far, Indonesia remains behind Vietnam in education. In the future, Indonesia must be able to compete with the country. "This can be done if the quality of education in Indonesia can be improved," Sri Mulyani noted.
She mentioned that the government, through the Ministry of Finance, has set a budget fund, worth Rp400 trillion, for the Kemenristekdikti. It can be used for the development of education in the country.
Education in Indonesia should be better, qualified, and be able to create a superior, trusted, and intelligent human being.
"It must be parallel to the educational system of developed countries," she explained.
Sri Mulyani added that the budget funds for education in Vietnam are not much different from that in Indonesia. However, the reality of education in Vietnam is much more advanced and developed when compared with that in Indonesia.
"Therefore, Indonesia should be able to be like Vietnam," the minister of finance stressed.
The National Working Meeting of the Kemenristek took place on Jan 16 and 17, 2018. The national work meeting evaluates program implementation and budget in 2017, program outlook, and budget 2018.
The theme raised in the meeting was high education research and technology in the (fourth) industrial revolution era 4.0.///ANTARA
Development in border areas promotes social justice for all people across Indonesia, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto stated.
"All people of Indonesia should get justice. People of Indonesia not only live in cities but many of them also reside in rural areas, and they need social justice and welfare," he noted during a coordination meeting of Control and Management of State Border Areas in 2017 and Sharpening of Priority Programs in 2018 in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The meeting was held by the National Border Management Agency.
He pointed out that the government had several tasks to accomplish to support development in border areas, including building social and economic infrastructure.
"Development in Indonesian regions is not yet complete. It should be well-planned and organized," he remarked.
He emphasized that comfort and prosperity should be guaranteed to the people in border areas, so they will be proud of their country.
He pointed out that all elements of the nation should focus on realizing equitable development across regions of Indonesia.
Border areas need adequate infrastructure, including schools, health community centers, mosques, and markets, so that more people will be able to lead a comfortable life, and economic activities will improve.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had vowed to not disregard regions and stay committed to realizing equitable development across all regions of Indonesian through a nation-centric concept.
The head of stat conveyed his promise while delivering a speech at the 2018 National Coordination Meeting of Volunteers of President Jokowi at the Tilangga Auditorium in Rote District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, on Monday (Jan 9).
Deputy Secretary of Protocol, Press, and Media of the Presidential Secretariat Bey Machmudin stated that in the last three years of Jokowi`s leadership, regional development was intensively conducted from the border areas to the frontier, outermost, and remote regions in Indonesia. It was in line with the government`s nine-point development agenda to make Indonesia a developed country through nation-centric development.
"We not only develop Java and Sumatra but also all regions in Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke and from Miangas to Rote Island," Jokowi noted.
Jokowi highlighted that the development of infrastructure, such as port, railway lines, and road networks, remains a priority of the government, especially in the border areas.
"Infrastructure development is aimed at fostering a populist economy," he remarked during the Three National Pillar Coordination Meeting of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle at the ICE BSD City, Tangerang District, Banten Province, on Saturday (Dec 16).///ANTARA
Indonesia and the Netherlands share commonalities in the substantive law and legal structure, or called "legal DNA," and future challenges in terms of the rule of law and security, Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Rob Swartbol stated.
"Much of the laws here in Indonesia are based on old Dutch laws; of course, that should be modernized, but the basic foundation of our two legal systems are quite similar and are quite the same," he stated, during the Indonesia-Netherlands Rule of Law and Security Update (INLU) 2018 held in Erasmus Huis, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Cooperation on the rule of law between institutions of both countries had been started since 1968. Since then, Indonesia and the Netherlands have been working closely to improve the rule of the law and share future challenges.
Some of the common concerns include creating inclusive societies, regulating the use of internet and social media, curbing cyber war, dealing with hate speech, fighting climate change and environmental degradation, as well as dealing with illegal fishing.
According to Swartbol, both countries have to find answers to these new challenges, some of which even transcend physical borders.
However tempting it is to do quick fixes, solutions have to be based on the rule of law within strong democracies, such as Indonesia and the Netherlands.
"Despite both countries running the risk of creating rule by law, the question is on how to reconcile freedom of expression, with the need to protect our societies from misleading information and; how to balance openness and transparency that makes our economy grow and flourish, with the privacy we need as human beings to be happy and to secure. These are vital questions that we all face," he noted.
Delivering a keynote speech at the INLU, Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly stressed the importance of cooperation with the Netherlands on law reform process, including providing access to justice and legal education as well as ensuring public`s trust to legal institutions.
In terms of information and technology (IT) challenges, the Indonesian government has been working with IT companies to tackle the potential threat and cyber crimes coming from the social media.
Indonesia has also held a meeting with Australia, New Zealand, and some other neighbor countries to discussing how communication technology can bring benefits to people, without the fear of its use to promote any terror acts.
"Countries must be able to cooperate with others to create some pressure on the balance between freedom of speech and access of public information," Laoly noted.
The INLU 2018 is a two-day conference to discuss undercurrents in society as well as new insights and approaches to safeguard and strengthen accessible, accountable, inclusive, and sustainable judicial systems both in Indonesia and in the Netherlands.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has appointed two new Cabinet members on Wednesday morning (17/1) in a minor reshuffle. Former Golkar secretary-general Idrus Marham has been appointed as Social Affairs Minister to replace Khofifah Indar Parawansa, who is running in the East Java gubernatorial election. Meanwhile, former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Moeldoko has been appointed to replace former anti-corruption activist Teten Masduki as the Presidential Chief of Staff. Air Marshal Yusu Sutisna has been appointed as Air Force Chief of Staff. The former chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), Gen.(ret.) Agum Gumelar, has been appointed as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres). Hanura politician Oesman Sapta Odang confirmed Moeldoko’s appointment, said that Moeldoko has good credibility. With Idrus's appointment, Golkar now has three representatives in the Cabinet, along with Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto. Moeldoko’s appointment also increases the number of military retirees in Cabinet-level positions////JP