Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla were elected as President and Vice President of Indonesia since 2014, during which global economic growth entered an unstable period which is not only experienced by developed countries such as the United States, Britain and Japan; but also experienced by developing countries such as Brazil, as well as some ASEAN member countries such as Indonesia. But on the other hand, at that time there were a number of countries whose economic growth increased, such as Thailand and Vietnam.
Joko Widodo’s government at that time firmly declared to realize the Trisakti ideology is to make Indonesia a sovereign country in politics; be self-sufficient in the economy; and personality in culture. In order to achieve a populist-based economy, a breakthrough in the field of economic diplomacy with its partners, bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally, is needed.
In terms of economic development, the Governance of Joko Widodo formulates Nawa Cita which has three main characteristics: the present state, building from the periphery, and mental revolution. From the results of development in the economic sector there are 5 main indicators in the field of welfare, namely: poverty, unemployment, inequality, inflation, and economic growth.
In terms of poverty on the number of poor people in Indonesia continues to decline from 28.01 million (1.86%) in March 2016 to 27.77 million (10.64%) in March 2017. This poverty reduction is an important indicator of the various government programs targeting disadvantaged groups, such as Healthy Indonesia Card, Smart Indonesia Card, Family Hope Program, BPJS health insurance, and other fruitful social programs.
In terms of reducing the unemployment rate, the government is also implementing a work program to reduce the poverty rate both urban and rural and the unemployment rate has decreased from the original 5.50% in February 2016 to 5.33% in February 2017.
The Government has distributed the Smart Indonesia Card (KIP) distributed throughout Indonesia and Healthy Indonesia Card (KIS) to the underprivileged people is a proof of the realization of Nawa ideals. This can be said as the success of the government, because many people who benefit from the programs made by the government.
)* The author is CIDISS Contributor