Bearing Burdens Together

KOMPAS

President Joko Widodo poses for a group photo after delivering a speech at the MPR Annual Session at the Jakarta Parliament Building, Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

The 77th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia was celebrated in a lively manner, from the State Palace to the country’s remote regions. Joy shone on the faces of the nation's children.

Two years earlier, independence celebrations were held in a limited manner because of the Covid-19 pandemic. At this moment, the pandemic is not over yet, even though it is transitioning into an endemic.

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Nevertheless, the prolonged Russian-Ukrainian war to which the United States and its allies responded incorrectly, followed by the heating up of US-China relations with regard to the Taiwan Strait, have caused the world to become darker, threatened with a food crisis, an energy crisis, and a financial crisis. These three crises have even spread to many countries.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that slower global economic growth in 2023. If it reached 6.1 percent in 2021, this year it will be 3.2 percent, and then just 2.9 percent in 2023.

President Jokowi also said that 553 million people in the world were threatened with extreme poverty, while 345 million people were threatened with a shortage of food.

The signs that the future challenges this nation will face will not be easier, and could be even more difficult, was also conveyed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in his state address to mark the 77th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The President even said that 107 countries had been affected by crises, with some of them predicted to go bankrupt. President Jokowi also said that 553 million people in the world were threatened with extreme poverty, while 345 million people were threatened with a shortage of food.

The President called on us all to be cautious and vigilant while being grateful that we had passed the Covid-19 health crisis. Indonesia's economy in the second quarter of 2022 grew 5.44 percent, and the trade balance recorded a surplus for 27 consecutive months.

KOMPAS/AGUIDO ADRI

Residents of Gelora Village, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, celebrate the independence anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia, (17/8/2022), after two years of no people's party.

House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani, in her speech at the 2022 Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), also emphasized that Indonesia’s Covid-19 mitigation in 2021 was among the best in the world. According to Puan, this was due to the mutual cooperation of all Indonesian people by cancut taliwondo, rolling up their sleeves.

The global financial crisis, marked by inflation as a result of skyrocketing energy prices, has not been fully felt by the public at present because the government has disbursed subsidies worth Rp 502 trillion (2022) for fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and electricity.

However, the alert, anticipatory, and responsive design of the 2023 State Budget (APBN) as presented by President Jokowi is also a sign: control of spending that is more efficient, more productive, and generates a multiplier effect will be continued.

We must put aside personal or group interests and place the interests of the nation in the main.

Just like when the nation succeeded in overcoming the Covid-19 health crisis, the spirit of mutual cooperation is now needed again. By working together, a shared heavy burden will feel lighter. We must put aside personal or group interests and place the interests of the nation in the main.

If this nation can pass the three big waves in its 77th year, the Indonesian nation will move forward to surpass other nations in the world. An Indonesia as a nation that is both independent and prosperous.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)