Remarks of the President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Opening of the Rapimnas Kadin, 2021 National Leadership Meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, December 3, 2021, at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), Badung Regency, Bali Province.
With the theme “KADIN Strong, UMKM Strong, Regional and National Economies Strong, Indonesia Strong,” the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) hosted the next National Leaders’ Summit on December, 3, 2022. This rapid turnaround in Arsjad Rasjid’s second year as head of KADIN Indonesia is intended to address the state of the national and international economies in the midst of a recession.
In addition, this Rapimnas is an initiative to continue making KADIN Indonesia a welcoming and collaborative hub for businesses of all sizes, from startups to multinational corporations.
Arsjad Rasjid, the head of KADIN Indonesia, has said that the world, including Indonesia, is currently experiencing a negative impact. To that end, KADIN Indonesia, as a payung organization in the global business sector, is constantly revising its work programs to reflect the realities of the present and strengthening its internal infrastructure through the current Rapimnas.
“KADIN Indonesia, as a strategic government agency, will keep working to prepare for the inevitable effects of this disaster. One way to do so would be to strengthen the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (UMKM) so that it can better support the country’s and region’s economies. In the Indonesian economic sphere, UMKM is akin to a guiding star. In 2021, UMKM will contribute 61.07% of its own funds, or Rp8.573.89 trillion, to the national budget. About 117 million people, or 97% of the working population, have their workplace needs met by UMKM. The current number of UMKM is 64,2 billion, as stated by the head of the Indonesian KADIN.
The current president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, starts off his opening remarks:
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good afternoon. May prosperity be upon us all. Om swastiastu. Namo buddhaya. Greetings of virtue.
Honorable Speaker of the Republic of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly; Distinguished Ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet I counted the number of ministers who attended the Kadin national leadership meeting. There are ten ministers in attendance.
Everyone Attended the Rapimnas Kadin Event
Because of the significance of Kadin to our country, all ministers are at this event. I’ll read the names; I counted them and wrote them down earlier. Minister of State Secretary, Minister of Finance, Minister of Trade, Minister of Manpower, and Minister of Investment who has been with me since this morning. I had no idea the Minister and I were in the same car, but I was properly escorted. Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Minister of Industry, Minister of Communications and Informatics, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises All ten Ministers are in attendance.
Distinguished Governor of Bali Province; Distinguished Chairperson of the Financial Services Authority’s (OJK) Board of Commissioners; Distinguished Chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Arsjad Rasjid, Chairperson of the Kadin’s Advisory Board Anindya Bakrie, and all Chairs of the Executive Board, Chairperson of the Expert Council, Chairperson of the Honorary Council, Deputy General Chairperson, and all Chairs and Ranks of distinguished guests.
Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, Continues His Speech.
We continue to face challenge after challenge. Never believe that the pandemic is over. Certainly, compared to the total number of cases recorded in mid-July, which stood at 56 thousand, we recorded 311 daily cases yesterday. This is something we should be thankful for. That is due to our hard work and mutual cooperation. But, once again, we must be cautious because the challenge is not over.
The Omicron variant has been reported in 29 different countries. Singapore, our nearest neighbor, discovered the new variant this morning. Despite ongoing rapid research, this new variant has the potential to be five times more contagious than the Delta variant. It can also compromise the human immune system.
To that end, we must all remain vigilant and alert once more. However, do not be overly concerned. We must maintain our optimism, especially in 2022. We must be optimistic that our economy will recover above 5%.
It turns out that the things we don’t count or predict have multiplied their effects. We learned that several countries experienced a shortage of energy and containers as a result of the pandemic, whether they were inter-country, inter-provincial, or inter-island containers.
Inflation in several countries has skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic, which we did not predict. And, due to inflation, it has recently been reported that there has been an increase in producer prices in several countries, which will eventually lead to an increase in consumer prices.
This is a mutual complexity, and the problem is spreading everywhere. We need to plan ahead of time and move faster than usual. As global economic uncertainty spreads throughout the world, so does the problem complexity. The key to global economic growth, and therefore to our economy, is how we can control the pandemic as we do now. That’s it. Others will undoubtedly follow suit. And investment is the driving force of our economy, whether it is micro, small, medium, or large business investment, all of which are critical at this time.
The investment target for 2021 is Rp900 trillion, which we appear to have met. Let us raise it to Rp1.200 trillion in 2022, because the Ministers are young and agile. And now, more investments have been made outside of Java than within it. This is fantastic: 48% in Java and 52% outside of Java. This is fantastic. As a result, the investment is no longer Java-centric, but rather Indonesia-centric. This is something we will continue to promote.
And I also need to convey to this meeting that I have just ordered Minister of Finance. This is what I usually do when I see how our economy is doing. Taxes have reached 77.5 percent, while non-tax state revenues (PNBP) have reached 107 percent, which has already surpassed… What does this imply? Tax receipts increased by 15.3 percent. Excellent. Despite the fact that our economy contracted 18.8 percent last year, from minus 18.8 percent, it is now growing by 15.3 percent. This is something we should be thankful for. The PNBP is expected to grow by 25.2 percent in 2021, up from 16 percent last year. These are fantastic figures. We’re always excited to see numbers like this, but when we hear the Omicron, we get a little nervous. Again, there is no need to be overly concerned because being overly concerned will have an effect on the numbers.
On this auspicious occasion, I remind Kadin that we have had the privilege and honor of holding the G20 presidency, the G20 chairmanship, since yesterday. In addition, the G20 will hold 150 meetings with all countries. We will focus on global health architecture, energy transition to green and sustainable energy, digital transformation, re-digitalization of energy transition and a green economy, and health architecture at the G20.
The global economic pendulum is beginning to shift toward a green economy. We must immediately adapt to the transformation; if the European market only accepts green products produced with renewable energy in the next two, three, or five years and we are not ready, how will we export our products? Once they begin, other countries will undoubtedly follow suit. As a result, we must begin shifting the direction of our economy as soon as possible in accordance with our G20 discussions.
When it comes to energy transition, we have an advantage because we have an abundance of renewable energy resources that produce green energy. We have 4,400 rivers for hydropower. We have more rivers than any other country on the planet. Only from two rivers: the Mamberamo in Papua and the Kayan in North Kalimantan. It can generate approximately 24,000 megawatts in Mamberamo and approximately 11,000-13,000 megawatts in North Kalimantan via the Kayan River. It is only from two rivers; again, there are 4,400 in total.
We have not yet used geothermal energy. We only use about 2 thousand of the 29 thousand megawatts available, which is less than 10% of the total. These are the options we have to compete with other countries. We have strengths that we haven’t realized we had for a long time.
To that end, I urge the Chairperson of Kadin to prepare in greater detail the needs, challenges, and aspirations of business players on the ground in order to support economic reform, structural reform, and assistance for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Thus, if the government develops major policies and Kadin prepares the details, the players and policymakers will collaborate.
Then, as I previously stated, prepare in greater detail the transformation of our economy toward a green economy, green energy, green tourism, and blue economy based on economic players. What they require and what they aspire to. Policies and their implementation are required. It will be a great strength if these two things come together.
That brings my remarks on this auspicious occasion to a close. And I’d like to congratulate Mr. Arsjad Rasyid, Mr. Anindya Bakrie, and all ranks and management of Kadin on their terms of service from 2021 to 2026. Despite the fact that they face numerous challenges, I am confident that the current management structure is a strong team.
And this afternoon, I officially open the 2021 National Leadership Meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry by saying Bismillah (Bismillahirrahmannirrahiim).
I appreciate it.
As-salamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
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