Introductory Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at Plenary Cabinet Meeting, Presidential Office, Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Monday, December 2, 2024

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good afternoon,

May peace be upon us all,

Shalom,

Om swastiastu,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of virtue,

Distinguished Vice President, Coordinating Ministers, Ministers, Heads of Agency, Chair of the National Economic Council, Attorney General, Head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Polri), and Vice Ministers of the Red-and-White Cabinet in attendance,

This afternoon, I gather you all at the Plenary Cabinet Meeting at the start of December, one and a half months after our inauguration. This is also the first meeting with the whole cabinet since my return from a working visit to several friendly countries last week.

Although, upon my return, I met with some of you at limited meetings and a few times when I received reports on some accidents and issues, I suppose this is the first time we are all present. And for that, I thank you all.

The purpose of this plenary meeting is to explain the working visit, the results of the visit, and the findings I discovered through my interactions during the past couple of weeks. Afterward, I would like to address my directives on programs we are set to execute.

However, first of all, let me thank you all. During the time I spent abroad, you continued to work as a team. Thank you, Vice President. Thank you, Coordinating Ministers. Thank you, Ministers and Heads of Agencies. Thank you, everyone.

I continued to monitor the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, and you handled it well, swiftly, and as a team. I monitored it from afar through vicon. By the looks of it, it is under control and we are responsive. The TNI and Polri also acted quickly. Once again, I thank you all.

Let me also express my appreciation to the Red-and-White Cabinet. I could feel the good cooperation, I sensed the teamwork. If we use soccer as an analogy, it shows that we have togetherness, that we collaborate. Perhaps this is the outcome of the retreat in Magelang. If the three-day retreat had given such a result, a five-day retreat could have given better results. What about the consensus, decision? I felt…

I would like to express my thanks. Ladies and Gentlemen, the achievements we have made… we took office just last month. It has only been a month, but we have already made significant impacts on the people.

First, the write-off of MSME debts, which have been carried by our farmers and fishers for quite a long time. I suppose this is very significant, so now their spirits are lifted and they become more active. The minimum wage increased. Thank you to those who have worked on it; Minister of Manpower, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, and [Coordinating Minister for] People’s Empowerment. Thank you. Thank you also for enhancing teachers’ welfare. Let me give my special thanks to the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. We also managed to reduce plane ticket prices by 10 percent nearing the year-end. Normally, plane ticket prices always surge at the end of the year. thank you, Minister of Transportation and all Ministers, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Thank you. These were all made possible thanks to our good teamwork.

I feel it everywhere. The people sense our continued commitment to standing with them and upholding the national interest. We carried on building upon foundations laid by the previous presidents, but we intend to continue improving all policies, to fix the systems that need fixing.

For example, let me also thank the team of the Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs and all ministers dealing with our food affairs. At the last limited meeting several days ago, I received an exciting report: our food production grew. Our food reserves probably reached the highest in several years. The [rice] reserves in our warehouses are almost 2 million tons. It is a huge amount and I am confident that in 2025, we will not have to import rice anymore. Our reserves will suffice.

This is wonderful news and this, once again, is thanks to your hard work. I appreciate the Minister of Agriculture and his team, the National Logistics Agency (Bulog), the National Food Agency, and all elements of the Minister of SOEs and SOEs under the supervision of the Minister of SOEs. Thank you.

The steps we have taken at the end of 2024 were also made possible thanks to the support of my predecessor, President Joko Widodo. We were able to overcome this difficult year. We faced both El Nino and La Nina, the dry season, but we managed to overcome them, to face them amidst a rough geopolitical situation.

Geopolitical issues influence food affairs. If there is tension or crisis, countries that usually export food will stop their exports. This phenomenon has happened time and time again. For this reason, I thank you, I thank God that we are currently in a stronger position. Moving forward, we will be stronger in this sector. We will be free from rice imports, but we also need to be free from other imported food commodities.

I would also like to express my thanks, my appreciation to the Minister of Home Affairs who controlled, who took part in monitoring inflation. Where is the Home Affairs Minister? Yes, thank you. I think this mechanism was initiated by Mr. Jokowi’s government. It is rarely implemented in other countries. Actually, we must keep our methods a secret. Journalists, could you delete that part? Thank you. This is something that is probably not taught in economic faculties. Our former president was a former mayor, so he deeply understands how to keep inflation under control on the ground.

Let me thank the TNI, Polri, BIN, the General Elections Commission (KPU), Regional General Elections Commissions (KPUD), the General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), and all who successfully and safely executed the simultaneous regional elections. On the same day, hundreds of elections proceeded safely and successfully. There will be dissatisfaction, some people will file lawsuits, and so on, but that is not a problem. That is a part of democracy. We must remember that we are a democratic country, the third largest in the world if I am not mistaken. The first is India, the second is the United States of America, and we are the third. We managed to organize hundreds of regional elections in an orderly manner.

I myself attended the election in Bojong Koneng village, where I live. From what I saw, it went very well. Some cheeky journalists asked me, “Who did you vote for?” Well, it is clear that I would not vote for… well, it remains confidential although… So, elections [principles] are direct, general, free, and confidential. Journalists should not ask me to whom my vote goes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please do your best to prepare for the end of year, Christmas, and 2025 New Year’s holidays. Once again, work with other ministries and agencies. Indeed, the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Public Works, Minister of Tourism, Polri Chief, and TNI Commander will certainly face more workloads nearing the end of the year. However, I am certain that we will be very well prepared. Let us convince the people that they can start the new year in a safe, smooth, and orderly manner. Let us use it as an opportunity, a momentum to enhance our economy.

Once again, perhaps for the first time in several years, we managed to reduce plane ticket prices. Usually, prices go up near the end of the year or the holidays. We managed to lower them a little to help our people. However, we must also be vigilant so that the reduction in plane ticket prices does not harm the aviation industry.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there are other things I would like to say, but I will tell you in more details after the press leaves.

Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, journalists.

(DH/MUR)