The question is whether the next leader will be capable of sustaining what we have started.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo has said that to realize the Golden Indonesia vision, the leaders who lead the nation next must have endurance and courage and be consistent in continuing the crucial policies his government has formulated

The head of state made the statement at the 2023 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Session and the 2023 Joint Session of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) and Regional Representative Council (DPD) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"The country needs leaders who have long endurance, since we are not taking an afternoon walk nor a sprint race. We should run a marathon to achieve Golden Indonesia," he remarked.

The President reiterated that the next leaders, who will be elected in the 2024 presidential and legislative elections, will determine the future of the country.

"It is not a matter of who is the (next) president. No, it is not that. The question is whether the next leader will be capable of sustaining what we have started," he affirmed.

He then outlined a number of policies, such as the natural resources downstreaming policy, whose continuation he described as paramount, and said that by downstreaming its natural resources, Indonesia will be able to double its per capita income in the next decade.

President Widodo informed that Indonesia's per capita income in 2022 was recorded at Rp71 million (US$4.6 thousand).

He expressed optimism that the downstreaming policy will help the country increase this value to Rp153 million (US$10,900) over the next decade, and then to US$15,800 in 15 years and US$25 thousand in 22 years.

According to him, the government has also been working on building essential infrastructure to increase inter-regional connectivity, which helped boost Indonesia's competitiveness ranking from 44 to 34 in 2022, according to the International Institute for Management Development.

Furthermore, he noted that the government has been exerting great efforts to realize an equitable economy, including by allocating a dedicated budget of Rp539 trillion (US$35.2 billion) for the 2015–2023 period to develop villages, including those located in the outermost regions.

Moreover, the government has been consistently executing structural reform by simplifying regulations, providing easier access to obtaining permits, ensuring law certainty, and preventing corruption.

"All these (efforts) serve as a basis for us to achieve progress," he said.

The annual session was attended by leaders of MPR, DPR, and DPD; Vice President Ma'ruf Amin; fifth president of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri; Indonesia's 10th and 12th vice president, Jusuf Kalla; Indonesia's 9th president Hamzah Haz; and Indonesia's 6th vice president, Try Sutisno.

Ministers, leaders of political parties, and other officials also joined the session.

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Translator: Gilang G, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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