Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla, on Friday, called for Indonesia to have assertive political policies and several entrepreneurs to realize its economic transformation, from traditional agriculture to industry to be on par with other Asian countries.

"The transformation runs from assertive policies. We need them. Do not allow ourselves to make assertive policies, as we are permissive," he told participants of a seminar on economic transformation for advancing Indonesia here.

Due to the permissiveness, the existing regulations were revised. At the end, Indonesia would fail to achieve "speed." Hence, a transformation was deemed necessary with assertive policies, Kalla noted.

The main point of an economic transformation, from traditional agriculture to industry, was not merely related to policies but how it can also encourage the emergence of entrepreneurs, he stated.

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Kalla referred to the experiences of Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore that are termed as "The Four Asian Dragons," saying that they witnessed an economic transformation, from agriculture to industry, to enable them to enjoy added values and capability to compete in the global economy.

China was able to transform its economy, from an agrarian state to an industrial one within three decades, making it one of the world's largest producers.

"Our first and foremost homework is having assertive and solid policies for transforming our economy. These had been carried out by Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore), Deng Xiaoping (China), and Park Chung Hee (South Korea)," he stated.

In addition to assertive political policies, shifts in the industrial sector also demand a huge number of entrepreneurs, technological capability, and financial capital to run business activities, Kalla noted.

In connection with China's experiences in transforming it to be one of the world's economic powers, ANTARA noted that the Chinese government has been attempting to make the country the home of innovators.

As revealed in one of Xi Jinping's speeches in 2017, China has, since long, been aware of the importance of innovation as the "primary force driving development and strategic underpinning for building a modernized economy." Related news: Industrial sector contributes 19.52 percent to economic growth

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Translator: Fransiska Ninditya, Rahmad Nas
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019