Gov’t to Improve Defense Technology Mastery
President Jokowi accompanied by Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto and relevant ministers, attends a defense technology exhibition at the 2020 Defense Ministry-TNI-Polri (Indonesian National Police) Leadership Meeting at Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Field of Ministry of Defense, Jakarta, Thursday (23/1). (Photo by: PR / Jay)
The Government aims to improve the country’s mastery of cutting-edge technologies on automation, sensor, and information technology (IT) to counter wide-ranging security challenges going forward, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.
“The automation technology aspect will cover the development of autonomous weapon systems, which is expected to swiftly improve in the future,” President Jokowi said in his directive during the 2020 Defense Ministry-the Indonesian National Defense (TNI)-the Indonesian National Police (Polri) Leadership Meeting at Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Field of Ministry of Defense, Jakarta, Thursday (23/1).
The President continued, an improvement in sensor technology aspect will lead to the development of remote sensing systems. “We have utilized the system several times in military operations. Meanwhile, on Information Technology (IT) aspect, 5G technology and quantum computing will lead to the development of autonomous weapons systems and cyber defense,” the President said.
President Jokowi went on to say that all of the systems are devised under the proper primary weaponry defense system (Alutsista) procurement policy, so that the purchase of weapons could be useful in 20, 30, 50 years ahead. “This should be well-calculated so that every consequence should be considered,” he said.
On that occasion, the President also said that he has discussed defense vision for the country with Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto.
“We have to strengthen our technological prowess for our defense. We can provide the medium-term 15-year scheme for those local defense industries, which is intended to make the investment well-planned,” the President added.
According to the President, the Defense Industry Law should also cover technology transfer, cooperation in production with the SOEs, local content requirement (TKDN), as well as the development of production chains between the SOEs with private corporations and SMEs.
“Therefore, I call on Ministry of Defense to spend the State Budget in an efficient and clean manner, starting from the planning and the implementation of the budget. I need also to inform you that Ministry of Defense received the largest amount of money in this year’s State Budget with Rp127 trillion rupiah,” President Jokowi said, adding that the Ministry should support the local defense industry.
The President further said that regarding the defense equipment cooperation between Indonesia and other countries, a number of countries have been looked into by the Minister. “Some countries have been visited by the Minister, such as France, South Korea, and Eastern European countries, and a decision will be made soon. I will have a meeting with the Minister next week in Surabaya,” the President said.
At the end of his introductory remarks, the President instructed the Minister to draft a Strategic Plan for the welfare of soldiers, including housing, health, and performance allowance. “I really appreciate our soldiers who served in the most difficult locations. I saw a new marine base, a composite military base, and there is also a large-scale complex in Natuna yesterday,” the President added.
The Government, the President continued, will strive to improve human resources and the welfare of TNI soldiers as well as retirees. “We have also made transformation to the TNI’s organizational structure so that high-ranking officer positions could be increased. We will also propose a revision of Law 34 of 2004 on the TNI retirement at the age of 58 years for non-commissioned officers (Bintara) and enlisted police officers (Tamtama) positions,” he said.
The Government, the President continued, will strive to improve human resources and the welfare of TNI soldiers as well as retirees. “We have also made transformation to the TNI’s organizational structure so that high-ranking officer positions could be increased. We will also propose a revision of Law 34 of 2004 on the TNI retirement at the age of 58 years for Bintara and Tamtama positions,” the President added.
In the meantime, President Jokowi also mentioned capital city relocation from Jakarta to East Kalimantan. “I would like to say this is not about moving buildings, but we want to change the mindset, work system, and work patterns,” the President said.
For that reason, the President said that the initial measure is to install all existing systems in terms of a new cultural shift in working and governance systems.
President Jokowi also said that it is not about big country defeats the small one, nor rich country defeats the poor one. “Here is the thing; a fast-move country will defeat a slow-move country. That is the key,” the President added.
Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: Muhardi
Proofread by: Mia Medyana
