"Based on the President's direction at the first Cabinet meeting, we agree to reduce ceremonial activities," he said during a working meeting with Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Tuesday.
According to the minister, officials should mobilize their ranks to implement activities that directly benefit the community.
"When we sit here, in an air-conditioned room, eating well, we do not think about the hardship of our people. We must take responsibility for that," Susanto said.
He then invited all relevant parties to turn "tears of poverty" into tears of happiness in every village.
"We should bring happiness instead of sadness to our people in villages," he added.
He reminded that cooperation between ministries and the DPR RI is also key for village development.
"Cooperation between the government and the DPR is the key. It will be difficult with no cooperation, especially for villages," he said.
He informed that 73 percent of Indonesia's population lives in villages. Therefore, efforts are required to develop those villages, which could bring real development to the country as well.
"Almost 73 percent of our people live in villages. If we do not take care of the villages, we do not take care of the country, too. We use the tagline 'Building Villages, Building Indonesia.' Villages are at the forefront for Indonesia," Susanto said.
As per the ministry, the number of independent villages in Indonesia has increased by 17,029 from 174 in 2015 to 17,203 as of October 7, 2024.
The status of other villages has also improved in the last 10 years. The number of advanced villages is currently pegged at 23,063, up from 3,608 in 2015.
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Translator: Tri Meilani A, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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