ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA AT THE ANNUAL SESSION OF THE PEOPLES CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA 2015
ADDRESS
OF
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
AT THE ANNUAL SESSION OF
THE PEOPLES CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY OF
THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
2015
Jakarta, 14 August 2015
MINISTRY OF THE STATE SECRETARIAT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,
May peace and prosperity be bestowed upon us all,
Om Swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya.
Distinguished People of Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke, from Miangas to Rote;
Honorable Speaker, Deputy Speakers, and Members of the Peoples Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia;
Esteemed Chairpersons, Deputy Chairpersons, and Members of State Institutions;
Distinguished Ministers and Chairpersons of Non-Ministerial Government Institutions;
Distinguished Bapak BJ Habibie, the third President of the Republic of Indonesia;
Distinguished Ibu Megawati Soekarnoputri, the fifth President of the Republic of Indonesia;
Distinguished Bapak Try Sutrisno and Bapak Hamzah Haz;
Distinguished Bapak Boediono and Ibu Herawati Boediono;
Distinguished Ambassadors of friendly countries, and Representatives of International Boards and Organizations.
My Fellow Countrymen,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I begin this address, I would like to invite all of you to express our gratitude to Allah SWT, God the Almighty, because of His blessings, we are able to attend the Plenary Session in the framework of the Annual Session of the Peoples Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia.
I would like to thank the Peoples Consultative Assembly that has provided me with this forum, so as the Head of State, I have the opportunity to greet all of the people of Indonesia.
Through this forum, as the Head of State, I have the opportunity to present my brief report to all the people of Indonesia on the main activities of the State Institutions. Additionally, through this forum, I have the opportunity to foster solidarity in order to strengthen the presidential system of government.
I truly understand that every State Institution plays a pivotal role as mandated by the constitution. Nevertheless, the solidarity of the State Institutions is really necessary in realizing the pledges of independence as stated in the Preamble of 1945 Constitution.
My Fellow Countrymen,
As a sovereign country, we should be aware that we are in fact waging a war. It is not a war in its physical sense such as the war that was waged by the independence war heroes, but it is a war for peace, welfare, and good life.
The victory to ennoble the people could be clinched if only all the elements of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, particularly the State Institutions, could unite as one and detach from ones own ego. Together we strengthen political sovereignty, economic self-sufficiency, and distinctive cultural traits. These Trisakti principles should be the key strategy to curb other nations bids from undermining Indonesian sovereignty, prosperity, and national characters.
Considering the social and economic capitals that we have, Indonesia boasts enormous potentials to surge to be an advanced and prosperous country. Indonesia has a large pool of creative population, and an increasing number of middle-class society, democratic political system, moderate Muslims and the worlds 16th economic power with gross domestic productof approximately Rp 10 thousand trillion. Through hard work, optimism, and turning consumptive behavior into productive behavior, we will have dignity among other nations in the world.
The acceleration to become a just and prosperous country, made possible with the support of all Indonesian people, is determined by the performance and solidarity of the State Institutions. Solidarity will also strengthen the presidential system, thus making the Government stable. Hence, the Government will be able to protect all of its people, the entire motherland, to enhance general welfare, to increase the intellectual life of the nation, and to participate in maintaining the world order based on independence, lasting peace and social justice.
My Fellow Countrymen,
Since the formation of the Working Cabinet, the Government has gradually launched a number of national development programs as mandated under Nawacita (Nine Priorities). The Government has carried out economic fundamental transformation and shifted the development paradigm from consumptive to productive behavior.
In order to revive economic growth, apart from providing some fuel for creative economic development, the Government focuses on carrying out infrastructure developments, such as toll roads, trains, harbors, reservoirs, and power plants. The Government also diverts the distribution of oil subsidies to productive sectors and social safety net. At present, the Government is launching a variety of programs such as Healthy Indonesia Card, Smart Indonesia Card, Welfare Family Card, and Social Assistance Programs for People with Severe Disabilities.
The Government admits that there are still many problems to overcome. Up to this day, food prices have remained volatile, the gap between the rich and the poor as well as inter-regional gaps still exists, corrupt practices are still rampant, and law enforcement is not fully stringent. The Government will have to work hard to overcome these problems. Particularly in the politics, especially those relating to the internal conflicts of some political parties, the Government takes an even-handed stance and hopes to see that the existing problems wisely resolved.
Meanwhile, the Working Cabinet reshuffle that I have just undertaken, has basically been part of an effort to improve the Governments performance to drive up the acceleration ofthe national development . The cabinet reshuffle is one of the best bridges to fulfill my promise to the people, namely improving their welfare and quality of life.
My fellow Countrymen,
Please bear in mind, all of the State Institutions in our homeland have been working very hard. The Assembly has built a good political tradition. In the run-up to the inauguration of the President and the Vice President, the Speaker of the Assembly visited national prominent figures, and personally extended the inauguration invitation to the President and the Vice President elect, as well as to the other contenders in the presidential election. The Assembly is also launching a national program for the nations character-building with the manifesto of This is Truly Indonesia and is continuously disseminating Pancasila (the five principles), 1945 Constitution of the State of the Republic of Indonesia, the state motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
In addition, to begin the implementation of authority as stated in the 1945 Constitution, the Assembly for the 2014-2019 period convened a session to inaugurate the President and the Vice President elect of the 2014 Presidential Election, amidst the peoples anxiety in the Assemblys commitment to inaugurate the President and Vice President elect.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia as the peoples representative institution is transforming itself into a Modern Parliament. Checks and balances mechanism, legislation, budgeting, and controlling functions have so far worked incredibly well.
The implementation of the legislation function of the House is carried out in parallel with the guidance of national law development and in a positive correlation with the policy plan of the national political and law development. The implementation of the budgeting function of the House is conducted by always adhering to the national economic system, that is self-sufficiency economic system. The implementation of the supervisory function of the House is directed to oversee the implementation of the law, state finance, and more effective and efficient government policy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Regional Representatives Council has also been working well, serving as a conduit for the aspiration and the regional development interests and tilting the balance of the posture of the State Budget in favor of the regions. The aspiration of the Council to increase the budget allocation for the regions is fully supported by the Government.
A number of laws, such as Law Number 32 of 2014 on Marine Affairs, and Law Number 13 of 2012 on the Special Region of Yogyakarta were initiatited by the Regional Council of the Republic of Indonesia, andso was the Draft of the Law on the Archipelagic Insights which has now been included in the 2015 National Legistation Program. In addition, the Council also actively fosters bilateral and multilateral cooperations.
Fellow Countrymen,
In terms of financial audit, the Audit Board has so far encouraged the central and regional governments to improve the quality and accountability of the state finance.
As a State Institution, the Audit Board has worked meticulously and to always ensure that the state financial management is utilized for the peoples welfare. Since last year, the Audit Board has continued to place its auditing on the programs related to the enhancement of peoples welfare high on the list of priorities, particularly in terms of the aspects of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness as well as law-abidingness.
Similarly, the law enforcement agencies have been working hard as well. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court has promoted the implementation of its four missions, namely safeguarding the autonomy of the judicial bodies, delivering equal law services toward justice seekers, increasing the leadership quality of the judicial bodies, and increasing the credibility and transparency of the judicial bodies.
The Supreme Court has made a significant breakthrough in case-handling by setting a much shorter period of time for a case to be re-submitted to the district court, and in the implementation of chamber system to ensure verdict consistency. The performance of case handling in the Supreme Court has constantly shown a positive result. Additionally, the Supreme Court has carried out leadership downsizing, information transparency, and better access for justice seekers.
My fellow Countrymen,
Throughout 2014, the Constitutional Court has duly completed its constitutional tasks in adjudication and resolution of the dispute over the outcomes of Representative Board Members election with quality and in due course. The decision of the Constitutional Court has also served as a foundation for establishing representative boards, be it the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council, as well as Provincial, Regency, and Municipal Regional House of Representatives across Indonesia.
In addition, by adjudicating disputes over presidential and vice presidential election result on 21 August 2014, the Constitutional Court has successfully guided and put the process of national leadership succession on its constitutional tracks in a safe and peaceful fashion. Indonesian people hope that the Constitutional Court will also succeed in handling disputes concerning regional leaders election result.
Meanwhile, the national law development is also supported by the Judicial Commission. Pertaining to the authority of nominating candidates for Supreme Court Judges, the Judicial Commission has proposed the appointment of Supreme Court Judges. The Judicial Commission also continues to run programs to uphold the nobleness and dignity of the judges by beefing up their capacity through a variety of training with an emphasis on Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Judges, monitoring, public education concerning the role and authority of the judges, advocacy, and the efforts to promote the judges welfare.
The Judicial Commission also continues to oversee the attitude of the judges, and decide as to whether reports on alleged violations against code of conduct is true. The Judicial Commission also gears up competent candidates for judges through the clinic of ethics and law programs at some universities. The preparation of competent potential judges is conducted by recruiting law students to be trained as potential judges with high quality and integrity.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow Countrymen,
The performance of State Institutions that I mentioned earlier, is part of our sublime effort to increase the development capacity and accountability in our country towards a more democratic, authoritative, and dignified country.
I fully support every State Institution to strengthen its role and function, particularly in continuing to carry out bureaucracy reform. I hope the State Institutions to get tougher in eradicating corruption as a part of the manifestation of governments accountability and transparency.
We are also obliged to maintain State Institutionss dignity in a reciprocal manner, to create mutual synergy, and to improve the national and international public trust. Please bear in mind, we are in the struggle for the welfare of all Indonesian people.
Finally I invite the Leaders of State Institutions to play a more significant role in maintaining political stability to accelerate the national development. Together, let us inflame the spirit to put forward the importance of the state and nation. Let us build this motherland, our native land with altruism and full responsibility.
Long live the Republic of Indonesia!
I thank you,
Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om,
Namo Buddhaya,
Jakarta, 14 August 2015
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA,
Sgd.
JOKO WIDODO