President Jokowi: We Must Maintain Stability During Election Year
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo urged everyone to play a role in maintaining stability and security ahead of the 2024 simultaneous general elections.
“In the election year, which is only a year away, we will have presidential elections and legislative elections. We should maintain political stability and security and prevent disruption against existing economic growth,” the President stated at the National Coordination Meeting of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) at the eL-Royal Hotel Ballroom, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta, Wednesday (01/11).
President Jokowi said that the world is facing a global crisis and many threats and risks, including a global recession, financial recession, food and energy crises, war, and very high inflation. The President also reminded all parties to have the same commitment in facing the crisis.
“Do not let the global crisis and the election year disturb the economy since it is very difficult to restore in the world full of uncertainty, which is difficult to predict, and is difficult to calculate,” the President said.
According to the President, Indonesia’s economic stability is relatively well maintained amid the global uncertainty. Indonesia’s economy in the third quarter of 2022 grew at 5.72 percent, the highest among the G20 member countries.
The poverty rate, he added, has also decreased from 10.1 percent in 2021 to 9.54 percent in 2022, while the unemployment rate has decreased from 7.1 percent in 2021 to 5.9 percent in 2022, supported by an increase in investment in the country.
“Our competitiveness is getting better, supported by infrastructure that we do equitably in all provinces. The infrastructure, thank God, really supports our current economic stability,” he added.
The President further said that infrastructure development which is being intensively carried out across the country also supports investment equality in Indonesia.
“Right now, the economy outside the island of Java is bigger than the economy in Java. The economy outside the island of Java in 2022 is 53 percent, while the economy in Java is 47 percent. If this continues to increase in size, it means that the economic equality will occur not only in the island of Java, but also outside the Java,” the President said.
On that occasion, the President also urged everyone to maintain the unity of the nation.
“We hope that in the political competition during the presidential and legislative elections, we stay away from identity politics. Today is not the era of political conflicts, this is the era of contesting ideas and contesting programs,” the President remarked. (TGH/UN) (RI/HD/LW)