"We have to be cautious of innovation, especially those provoked by greed. We have to emphasize that innovation is intended to contribute to the peoples welfare," said President Widodo during an opening speech at the 12th World Islamic Economic Forum held in Jakarta Convention Center on Tuesday.
The president further explained that breakthrough ideas do not automatically guarantee the peoples welfare.
He believes that innovation will greatly add to some peoples wealth, but only the government has the ability to ensure that the benefit of innovation is justly distributed, including to the underprivileged.
"We live in an era where innovation is inevitable, from robotic development, artificial intelligence to 3D printing, but at the same time we live in an unstable era," he added.
For that reason, he believes that an income gap between members of the public is present, while Moslem communities are seeing and experiencing many threats across the globe.
"The worlds economy is vulnerable, while economic growth is weak. I believe that innovation can create winners and losers in this kind of situation. The bigger the innovation is, the wider the opportunity to bear winners. But without careful measures, there will be more losers than winners," he reiterated.
There are no shortcuts or magic bullets at this point of time, he continued.
"We have to do the complex work, building industrial systems and work in fields to educate the next generation for the necessary stance needed in the 21st century," the President said.
For countries with underprivileged areas, the government needs to find a way out of disputes regarding electricity, clean water and transportation.
"We have to make sure that the people are living in a clean and safe environment. It is our duty to ensure the availability of affordable commodities. Most importantly, although it is rather difficult, we have to establish an open-minded culture where we can tolerate diversity among us, and do so with sincerity," he added.
Although it is complicated, the President believes that an open-minded environment can be achieved by moving ahead step by step.
He also thinks that the World Islamic Economic Forum can offer significant contributions to the peace and welfare of the worlds Moslem community.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
