Indonesia enters the year 2018 with relatively strong economic, political and social conditions.
By
·3 minutes read
Kompas/Wisnu Widiantoro
President Joko Widodo delivers a speech to open the Kompas 100 CEOs Forum on Wednesday (29/11) at Hotel Raffles in Jakarta.
Indonesia enters the year 2018 with relatively strong economic, political and social conditions. They are capital for the business world to move forward without hesitation.
Hesitation once appeared among the business circle in response to the sociopolitical climate in 2018, as 171 simultaneous elections for governors, regents and mayors will be held in June throughout Indonesia.
No less than President Joko Widodo himself needs to continually stress that the Indonesian sociopolitical situation will remain calm, despite the major democratic event. At the Kompas 100 CEOs Forum in November last year, the President affirmed that there was no need for businesspeople to be affected and dragged by politics simply because of the simultaneous regional elections.
The hesitation among businesspeople does not come from nothing. After the 1998 financial crisis that was followed by the economic crisis and change in national leadership, the world of domestic politics has been constantly chaotic. The situation heated up during the 2014 presidential elections and the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial elections.
In reality, we have been able to move past those tests. Physical violence did not occur during the two democratic events, even though we also witnessed that hoaxes, including efforts to pit one group against others, spread nearly uncontrollably. The presidential election and regional elections, which proceeded almost without physical clashes, show that our people have matured. This is the social capital that the government, security apparatuses, and we must all maintain.
Business leaders, as reported by this daily yesterday, show optimism that the economic condition in 2018 will be better.
In terms of the economy, nearly all macro indicators show improving conditions, except for economic growth, which remains with the 5 percent range. Business leaders, as reported by this daily yesterday, show optimism that the economic condition in 2018 will be better. Aside from political stability, they also hope that business certainties can be guaranteed. This indicates the need for mutual trust between the government and businesspeople.
Even though the Ease of Doing Business index for Indonesia has started to improve, one indicator that lags behind is contractual compliance. This is because government regulations change frequently and coordination between the central and regional governments has not run as well as expected.
In short, we need private investment to encourage growth. We have large-scale businesses, but we need many more new entrepreneurs. It is the duty of the government to give birth to new entrepreneurs and nurture emerging entrepreneurs.
The digital era has given birth to new Indonesian entrepreneurs whose businesses are worth millions of US dollars, but we also need the real sector, manufacturing, and small and medium-scale businesses to grow in order to absorb labor, half of which have elementary-level education and below.
And, investment will only happen if businesses and the government trust and rely on each other in a world where investment and markets no longer recognize state borders.
