Future Belongs to Those with Courage, President Jokowi Says

President Jokowi attends 2019 Terampil Festival, Kota Kasablanka, Jakarta, Saturday (9/2). (Photo by: Jay/Public Relations Division)

The future belongs to those with courage and those who are willing to work hard, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo told Indonesian millennials. He also reminded them not to complain in the face of problems and obstacles.

“We can learn a lot from problems in life,” the President said in his remarks at the 2019 Terampil (Skilled) Festival held in Kota Kasablanka Mall, Jakarta.

On that occasion, the President also shared his personal life, among others, his experience of working for state-owned sack paper producing company PT Kertas Kraft Aceh after graduating from school and returning to his hometown Solo to run his own business.

According to him, when starting his business, he had nothing and his parents could not provide capital assistance and the only thing he had was trust and persistence to hard work. Unlike many people who worked from eight to four, he worked from dawn to midnight, he said.

Nevertheless, the silver lining is that, the President added, one must start something from scratch to gain experiences to deal with obstacles. Therefore, he entrusted his two sons to be entrepreneurs by running martabak (a sweet, savory stuffed pancake) and banana fried nuggets business.

“I want to educate my sons that to make money, to raise capital, and to build trust is not easy,” the President said, adding amidst rapid dynamic changes, millennials are very responsive to seize opportunities – a stark difference from what he encountered when he started to run business.

The President also reiterated that millennials today have a great opportunity to develop anything, given the fact that changes in the global and national economy, as well as in the social and political landscape have led to changes in market behavior. The President also advised them not to feel inferior and not to rush to run a business.

For the record, the Festival Terampil is a collaborative event between Ministry of State-owned Enterprises through its “Spirit of Millennials” and Indonesian Initiator to provide training for young people. Five popular skill classes are taught by experts this year including fashion, photography, digital business, make-up, and coffee brewing.

Translated by: Muhardi

Edited by: M. Ersan Pamungkas