by: Anwar Habibi
President Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, is a person who is directly elected by the people to become a leader in Indonesia, it is very appropriate to be called a pro-people president. Because almost all of its work programs are in favor of the interests of the people of Indonesia. His character is quite firm and indiscriminately making the Indonesian state to be developed and viewed by the world. Jokowi is a professional leader, he does not carry out nepotism in both policy and ministerial positions. At present the work cabinet ministers are filled with people who really master their fields, namely the names Susi Pujiastuti and Sri Mulyani. No name has served on the element of closeness or family.
Jokowi is also known to be independent from his party. The policies taken are not solely for the benefit of the bearer party, but for the benefit of all people. The program to improve people’s welfare is Jokowi’s main focus. This program covers many aspects, such as health, food, investment, bureaucratic and legislative reform, infrastructure, maritime, village, education, industry and energy, forests and the environment as well as tolerance and diversity. One of the programs proclaimed in the Jokowi government was village funds and urban village funds aimed at helping the people. With the village and kelurahan funds, the village heads and village heads can repair sewers, build public facilities, and develop human resources (HR) in their respective regions.
Jokowi’s assertiveness and independence can also be seen when he rejects the seat-sharing coalition, as requested by political parties in the upcoming presidential election. Besides being firm, Jokowi is also a fair leader and does not look at one particular group. While serving as the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Jokowi firmly defended the Lenteng Agung Village Head, Susan, who is a Christian, with the reason that the lurah was elected through a job auction (open selection). Even though Jokowi was protested for weeks by intolerant groups on pro-Christian charges, Jokowi still held his principles. In the adjacent time, Jokowi firmly moved squatters from Pluit Reservoir, North Jakarta, to the flats provided by the DKI Provincial Government. To continue revitalizing this reservoir, Jokowi also had to deal with various groups suspected of taking advantage of the construction of wild houses in the area.
In his 4 years as President of the Republic of Indonesia, many important and risky decisions were taken by Jokowi in the interests of the people. Call it the 51 percent divestment of the government’s shares in PT Freeport Indonesia. He wondered why the public had been silent for decades only gaining a profit of 9 percent from Freeport. “How many years have we been given only nine percent, just keep quiet. I don’t know what the silence is. Are you afraid? Is it because of something given because I don’t understand? ” For this reason, the President gave assignments to his three ranks, namely the Minister of Finance, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, and Minister of BUMN, to hold negotiations. With 3 years of negotiations, finally PT Freeport’s shares can be controlled by the Indonesian Government.
Jokowi also stated the importance of firmness in safeguarding Indonesia’s natural marine resources. Moreover, thousands of foreign vessels have taken Indonesian sea products freely without warning. “We just leave it alone. We understand this, do we really not understand, understand but be quiet, what it doesn’t understand. But the period of seven thousand ships passed by, “he said. As a result, marine resources are diminishing and fishermen are losing their livelihoods. However, the courage to take action on ships that took fish in Indonesian waters was only carried out when the position of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries was held by Susi Pudjiastuti by issuing policies to sink the ships. “In every decade the fishermen go down to half, from 1.6 million to 800 thousand because there are no fish, so they (fishermen) change professions. Things like this that we have never noticed. Who should protect the natural resources of the sea “Yes, we have to do it ourselves, not asking for other countries to protect our marine natural resources, we won’t,” he said.
On the other hand, due to the maneuvers of the United States and China, the global economy is characterized by high uncertainty throughout the year. Domestically, uncertainty in the global economy has led to continued depreciation of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar, slowing growth rates, and reduced levels of consumer and investor confidence. The government responded to this situation by launching 4 economic policy packages. All components in the growth engine are touched by the four packages. For example, investors are given various facilities and incentives to increase investment rates, while workers are protected by purchasing power with a wage adjustment policy that follows inflation and economic growth. So far, the tetralogy of the government’s economic policy package has received a relatively positive response.
President Jokowi is not a nonsense leader, he realized all his work programs. One of them is massive infrastructure development to boost economic growth. Jokowi and his staff have fulfilled the promise. The government has allocated a budget of Rp 290 trillion for infrastructure development, or 40% more than the previous year’s budget. The government also managed to unravel congestion in the process of implementing a number of infrastructure development projects. Some of them, have been stalled for years. Real changes occur in Indonesia. Infrastructure such as dams, power plants, ports, trans Papua roads, Sumatra toll roads, fast trains, even toll roads in Java are now connected from Merak, Banten to Pasuruan, East Java. A very rapid change in just 4 years of Jokowi’s administration.
As president, Jokowi still applies his flagship moves during his time as Mayor of Solo and Governor of DKI Jakarta: Blusukan. This blustery style was later applied by his ministers. Blusukan is done so that it can directly observe the problems that occur in the field. Assertiveness and indiscriminate attitude for the advancement of the Indonesian nation have been embedded in Jokowi for a long time. Another thing that must be appreciated, namely President Jokowi’s Government, is free from corruption.
*) Mulawarman University students
