Optimism Welcomes 2021

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A man on a bicycle reads an announcement banner installed at the gate of the Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta, Wednesday (30/12/2020). Ragunan Zoo is temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

2020 is ending soon to leave behind the life-changing and stressful COVID-19 pandemic while embracing new hope.

New year’s greetings accompanied by hope for a better future are meaningful in facing the pandemic. We hope that the arrival of vaccines means the beginning of the end to the pan-demic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great challenge to everyone. It has paralyzed all aspects of life. The economy, which had previously grown at 5 percent, experienced a sudden con-traction. The World Bank projects that the Indonesian economy will contract 2.2 percent this year.

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Entering 2021, we should invest in human capital through investing in education and health to recover what was lost during the pandemic.

As a result, the challenges facing our education sector is making the government accounta-ble in providing knowledge to all students, even through online means, while ensuring that parents provide character-building learning at home. At the same time, the health sector must maintain full operational capacity in mitigating the pandemic.

Human beings have the resilience and perseverance to survive. Amid this dark period, we see the light of new hope in the dawn of a new year. Innovation and creativity have been born from new and young entrepreneurs, as well as scientists.

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Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary hearing regarding the judicial review of the Job Creation Law case number 91 and case 95 virtually, Thursday (12/11/2020).

Digital technology has created new opportunities to improve productivity, including public services that would have transformed slowly without the pandemic. New activities have sprouted along the way. Next year, we should have a more reliable digital infrastructure that all citizens can access to accelerate the recovery process.

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A new era creates new opportunities. The pandemic has put a halt to the movement of people and goods. As a result, we should ensure food and energy security.

We also hope that the newly enacted Job Creation Law will fulfill its promise in creating new jobs. Rather than waiting for foreign investors, who have adopted a wait-and-see strategy, the Job Creation Law should stimulate domestic investment from big corporations as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an equal and inclusive manner.

We enter 2021 with greater optimism following the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines.

The situation of domestic politics, which has been stable since the decision of Prabowo Subianto to join the administration of President Joko Widodo, will be an important factor in accelerating national economic recovery in 2021. However, we still face the problem of chronic corruption, as major cases have shown in 2020. The international community has also alleged the government of human rights violations. These two challenges should be dealt with in order to ensure sustainable growth for the country.

We enter 2021 with greater optimism following the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines. But the road to recovery will be long and arduous. We should address the challenges ahead with perseverance, consistency and hard work, together.

This article was translated by Lionel Priyadi.