Keynote Address of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Closing Ceremony of the International Conference on Infrastructure at the Jakarta Convention Center, Central Jakarta, Jakarta Special Capital Region, Thursday, June 12, 2025

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Good afternoon,
Peace and prosperity be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue.

Distinguished Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Mr. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) as the event organizer;

Honorable Speaker of the Indonesian Regional Representative Council Mr. Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, Vice Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Hidayat Nur Wahid;
Distinguished Coordinating Ministers, Ministers, Vice Ministers, and all members of the Red and White Cabinet;

Distinguished Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Prof. Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Prof. Pratikno, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Mr. Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, Chairperson of the National Economic Council General (Ret.) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan of the Indonesian National Defense Forces;

Distinguished Ambassadors of Friendly Countries, there are 28 Ambassadors present here, and Representatives of Friendly Countries. I welcome you, Distinguished Ambassadors, Ministers and Representatives of Friendly Countries.

Dear Governors, Regents, and Mayors present here, I’d like to apologize to you for not mentioning each of you individually, as there are hundreds of you in attendance. Nonetheless, I warmly welcome and thank all the Governors, Regents, and Mayors who have joined us.

As people of faith, we constantly praise the Almighty God, the Greatest God, for Muslims, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, the Lord of the Worlds. To Him alone we pray and to Him alone we turn for help. We are eternally grateful for all the blessings given to us for the peaceful and pleasant conditions of our nation, for the health and life we are still blessed with, allowing us to come together in this very place without lack of anything.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Distinguished Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure,

Thank you for this invitation and thank you for the fine and orderly organization and arrangements, and thank you for your remarks, Mr. Coordinating Minister. As it is already comprehensive, there is actually no need for me to deliver any lengthy keynote address. Isn’t what he said already comprehensive? But I am glad, as it means that I did not choose the wrong Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure.

One of the keys to leadership that I’ve learned is to select the best team you can, that’s what I’ve learned. Similar to if we want to create a soccer team, we must choose the best available, right? If it doesn’t work, at least we have tried, right? So why do I mention this? Because frankly, I don’t do much briefing, I don’t give directives very often, and when I do, I do it briefly. It is not often that I give directives to Mr. Yudhoyono, Mr. AHY, and not lengthy ones. I say this, to let you know that he can grasp the idea. And, ladies and gentlemen, what he said earlier is exactly what we are working on.

Ladies and gentlemen, we admit that we still face many challenges and difficulties. We admit that we have to catch up with the rapid developments of today’s world. But we are determined to catch up because our will is clear and strong, and our understanding of the situation is also evident. Now, what remains is to unite the intention, to bring collaboration together, and to work with spirit, with optimism, and with strong determination.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The problems we face in building a nation are the same problems that have been experienced by tens or even hundreds of other countries. The history of human civilization teaches us that the success of a nation depends on its elements, of course there must be a political system, a functioning state system. The state system has something to do with a functioning legal system that is fair and just. Then, within that system, leaders are chosen in the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. We are now talking about our duties as the executive, just this morning I was dealing with the judiciary, while the legislature constantly supervises us and supports our budgetary needs.

The development of a country is a matter of using and managing its resources and wealth. Our duty, as the executives, is how we safeguard and manage those resources and wealth. Then once we’ve gone through and identified the core problems of the nation, we can come up with solutions. We are not afraid of obstacles, we are not afraid of difficulties, we are not afraid of threats, we will tackle those problems. We will face them quickly, and we will find solutions with speed, and we will do it, Ladies and Gentlemen.

[Concerns of] food self-sufficiency, energy self-sufficiency, water self-sufficiency are crises that the UN has long predicted, world crises. The world is facing a food crisis. Hundreds of millions of people on earth are suffering from starvation right now, many countries are struggling to produce food. We are grateful to be given all the blessings by the Almighty, a vast, fertile land, sufficient water, resources above and within the earth, in the sea and under the sea, all our wealth is something we should be grateful for.

Since taking office, I’ve learned, I’ve looked at the numbers, I’m amazed by our wealth, our wealth is truly enormous. But, I also realize that we need to be more courageous, more capable of managing those resources. I am not embarrassed to say this in front of my friends abroad, I am not embarrassed, we must have the courage to say it as it is. Indonesia’s shortcomings are that we are less assertive, less courageous, less disciplined, less determined to protect our wealth. Too much of Indonesia’s wealth never reaches the Indonesian people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I must therefore lead a government that has the guts to enforce efficiency. With efficiency, we can invest in things that are crucial. I thank the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and the ministers for understanding that right now what I want to secure is Indonesia’s food and energy resources. And, Alhamdulillah, thank God, the indicators are evident in front of our eyes due to our policies in the past few months.

Once again, I must emphasize the role of the prior government, and I must emphasize that the transition from Mr. Jokowi’s administration to ours has played a significant role in ensuring that we can now work with speed, ladies and gentlemen. We must have the courage to acknowledge the merits and achievements of the previous governments. I will never be ashamed to say that what we are doing now is in no small part due to the contributions of the previous governments. Every government before us has contributed significantly. If we talk about infrastructure, we can see with our eyes what was built by Bung Karno by our first government, followed by President Soeharto, followed by the subsequent presidents. No nation-building falls from the sky, no. The development of a nation is built with determination, patience, stone by stone, step by step, with sweat, blood, and tears. All the infrastructure we benefit from was laid down by those who came before us.

Therefore, what we are doing now is setting clear priorities. In the first few years, I think in these two to three years, I believe our priority is still to secure our food supply. And, Alhamdulillah, thank God, our food production, our achievement in food security are the highest in the history of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Admitted or not, our current rice reserves in government warehouses are the largest in the history of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia in rice and corn production. And, our performance in agricultural technology per hectare is quite comparable to that of other countries.

Our rice production, which I saw last time in South Sumatra, in South Sumatra alone, the rice production is estimated to increase 48 percent this year, the increase in the first quarter of this year is already 48 percent, this upward trend is estimated to continue. The production per hectare is also very, very satisfying. One hectare of field usually yielded three, four tons of rice grain, now it yields six, seven, eight tons. That is extraordinary! Some places in Indonesia even have four harvests in a year, Ladies and Gentlemen. I think this is a world-class achievement that we should be very proud of and we will continue to maintain. How were we able to gain this achievement in such a short time? Because we practice efficiency, we simplify the regulations that we made ourselves, those that impede our progress, and we eliminate the long-winded bureaucracy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Fertilizers from government-owned factories, the fertilizers subsidized through the state budget were previously subject to 145 regulations, before they could reach farmers. The regulation must be signed by the minister, and before the minister signs it, it must be initialled by the director-general. The fertilizer must get the governor’s approval, the regent’s approval, the district head’s approval before it can reach farmers. I crossed it all out. Fertilizers must go from the factories directly to the Gapoktan (farmer group associations), without going through any layers. That increased production, ladies and gentlemen. Fertilizers which were once scarce commodities now become widely available and affordable for farmers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This reinforces my belief that modern government must be efficient, must move fast, must be flexible and agile, and must not be bogged down in regulations, regulations, and regulations. Regulations are important to monitor, control and secure people’s activities. But, regulations created merely to maintain sectoral power and matters related to vested interest, with particular interests other than the interests of the people, must be abandoned. I am committed to working hard to reduce unreasonable regulations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

With such priorities, we will then realize what we want to achieve. Therefore, I appreciate the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, you understand our problems and you understand my strategy. As a priority, I am now inviting the domestic and foreign private sectors to participate in the development of our infrastructure as much as possible.

I will say this openly, ladies and gentlemen. I believe in the strong role of the state in intervening to alleviate poverty, combat hunger, and improve education. I firmly believe in the importance of strong state intervention. However, I also recognize that in certain areas, especially in the physical construction sector, the domestic and foreign private sectors are often more modern, more efficient, and can achieve results on time, with significant budgetary savings. We must admit this.

Too often, these State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) think that if they work slowly, it will be alright. If they are wasteful, then it is okay because the Minister of Finance will do what is called PMN. What is this PMN? If we ask major international companies, do they have PMN (state capital injection)? So, precisely because we need efficient partners, partners with modern technology, I point out that the role of the private sectors in infrastructure must now be greater, ladies and gentlemen. But in order to attract domestic and private sectors, the Government must facilitate their work. So, I welcome the centers’ or offices’ initiatives to facilitate all projects, to give them security, to keep the big development plan undisturbed. That is our strategy, we are inviting private sectors.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Indonesian Government also now feels stronger due to the efficiency that we did at the beginning of my administration, at the beginning of my government. With our efficiency, it turns out that we can save a lot of cash and that money is now being used as our investment fund. This gives us confidence. When we invite cooperation with the private sectors or foreign partners, we can now say with certainty that the Government will contribute a certain percentage, and will not ask for free shares, but we will participate with actual money, real capital. I believe that will provide comfort to all foreign partners.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is our grand strategy, some elements of which have been highlighted earlier. I want to emphasize, I want to underscore, one of the infrastructure projects that is highly strategic, very vital for us, a mega project that we must execute is the Giant Sea Wall, the sea wall of the North Coast of Java. This project is very vital, this project has been in the planning of Bappenas (the National Development Planning Agency) since ’95. Imagine, since ’95. Thirty years ago, if I’m not mistaken, 30 years ago. But, we are not disheartened. Now there is no more delay, there is no need to talk too much, we will do it immediately, ladies and gentlemen. This project covers a long distance, if I am not mistaken, about 500 kms from Banten to East Java, to Gresik, 500 kms, and the estimated cost required is US$80 billion. The estimated time for construction at Jakarta Bay alone will probably take eight to 10 years. The next construction from the bay to reach East Java will probably take 15 to 20 years. No problem. There is an old saying, a 1,000 km journey begins with one step. We will begin immediately.

I have ordered a team to go on a roadshow, and in the near future, I will form the North Java Coastal Sea Wall Authority (Badan Otorita Tanggul Laut Pantai Utara Jawa). Indonesians like abbreviations, so we are looking for a good one. Badan Otorita is abbreviated to BO, Tanggul Laut Pantura Jawa TLPJ, so the authority BOTLPJ, how do you abbreviate it? Well, we will figure it out, it’s essential. But, this is a vital and mega project, I will initiate it. I don’t know which president will complete it, but we have to start and we will start. It costs US$80 billion. Specifically for Jakarta Bay, it probably costs US$8 to US$10 billion and I think we can bear the cost ourselves.

Is the Jakarta Governor present here? Unfortunately, he’s not present here. Let me know why he didn’t show up. Let me put on my glasses so I can see. But, I have met him before. I met him a few days ago and I have sent a messenger to ask the Governor of whether he supports this project or not? I got the answer, he supports it. Alhamdulillah, thank God. Because Jakarta’s regional budget is enormous. So, I said that both the Jakarta regional government and the central government must contribute [to this project]. So, if the project worth US$8 billion is estimated to be completed in eight years, it means we will spend US$1 billion a year on average. The Minister of Finance already looks tense. Calm down, ma’am, Jakarta will contribute. So, Jakarta will contribute half the cost, the central government the other half because this is actually for Jakarta. So, it is the northern sea wall of Jakarta, and then the next one is Semarang. Our priority is Jakarta-Semarang. In Semarang, Pekalongan, Brebes, the sea water has endangered the lives of our people [living there], and thus it must be built immediately. This is something that we must do and we welcome companies from China, Japan, Korea, Europe, the Middle East who want to participate. But, we will not wait, we will use our own power.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

That is the message that I would like to convey. I apologize if my keynote address is not very long, I think you also don’t want me to speak too long, right? Anyway, I come here to meet the wishes of the audience. Do you want it to be short or long? That would be a lie. Politicians are afraid of the President. “We want it long, sir “. But, the people at the back are already restless. I want to put on my glasses to see this, I want to see the smiles of the politicians or the smiles of the … [unclear] The executives and the business people want it to be short. “Never mind, sir, don’t talk too much. Tell us the wheres, the whats, and the hows, is that right? That’s right. Who, what, why, where, how, how much, and how much for me? Right? No need to talk too much, talk too long.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since my staff has made this, I would be ungrateful if I don’t use it. We will apply fiscal discipline. Oh, the Minister of Finance is watching me. We will simplify the licensing and land acquisition processes, I have already mentioned it. We will strengthen public-private partnerships. We will strengthen cooperation between the central and regional governments.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We now have Danantara, our sovereign wealth fund. Danantara is ready to participate and invest in infrastructure projects.

That is all I want to convey to you, ladies and gentlemen. We are on the verge of a major transformation, we are optimistic. I have seen the figures of our extraordinary wealth. I believe that in two years, maybe from next year onwards, we can re-organize these assets. I met with experts from some of the top world universities, they told me that the true potential of our marine resources remains largely untapped. We are going to be self-sufficient in food, that is very clear. We will be self-sufficient in water and we will also be self-sufficient in energy in the near future. And, we will enforce discipline, we will enforce the law. Only with legal certainty, the proper law enforcement, can the business climate flourish.

This concludes my address. Thank you, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and all participants. Thank you. Go ahead and carry on with what you have planned.

Wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi.
This is what everyone’s been waiting for, the “wassalamualaikum.”

Peace and prosperity be upon us,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om santi santi santi om,
Namo Buddhaya, 
Greetings of virtue,
Rahayu rahayu.

Thank you.
That concludes my address. (FI/TM)