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Jakarta Post

Leadership the key to solving RI'€™s problems, says Marzuki

Marzuki Alie: (JP/R

The Jakarta Post
Fri, December 6, 2013

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Leadership the key to solving RI'€™s problems, says Marzuki Marzuki Alie: (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama) (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

Marzuki Alie: (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

Wise counsel can come from anyone, but to see it implemented, very often it must come from the mouth of a person with great political influence or in a strategic position. House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie often provides such counsel, although the position he takes might not make him popular or a favorite among the nation'€™s political players. He recently talked with The Jakarta Post'€™s Imanuddin Razak about the critical issues faced by
the nation.

Question: We will welcome the legislative and presidential elections next year. What are your expectations? (Note: Marzuki Alie is a member of the Democratic Party [PD] and a candidate in the party'€™s leadership convention.)

Answer: The key to all the problems in this nation is leadership. Good state leadership originates from good political parties and their members.

Look at the leading positions in public offices from national to regional levels. All are held by officials associated with political parties. Therefore, if we can have good and true political parties with credible people of high integrity as members, our country'€™s prosperity is more likely.

Many officials of your party have been implicated in a number of corruption cases. How do you view that?

It'€™s a reality that nobody can deny, but the most important thing is that we [PD members], even our chief patron who is also President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono], have never interfered in the legal prosecutions against any of our party members investigated for corruption.

You can check with the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] whether we have put pressure on or have attempted to influence investigations into such cases.

How can this nation become prosperous?

In view of the upcoming legislative and presidential elections, it is important for Indonesia, as a result of the elections, to have leaders that are fair in every aspect of life.

One obvious example is the common practice in many public offices, where if the chairman or director of a government office is a graduate of a reputable university, it'€™s almost certain that key positions in the office will be held by officials hailing from the same university.

A just and prosperous nation will only exist if its leaders are fair, in the sense they give equal opportunities to everyone, including those outside their peer groups, to fill vacant positions.

Can you elaborate on the specific steps that need to be taken?

To be a prosperous nation, Indonesia must be '€œindependent'€ in many sectors or aspects. The elected president must want to promote '€œindependence'€ in all those sectors or aspects.

One crucial aspect is the country'€™s current lack of independence in food resilience and sustainability. Too many food commodities are imported from other countries, making our country vulnerable to food scarcity and soaring commodity prices.

There are a number of measures that could be taken in order to secure food resilience and sustainability.

First, there must be incentives provided for farmers so they will be eager to grow food crops. The measures are expected to provide ample food supply with affordable prices for consumers, but at the same time yield a reasonable income rate for the farmers themselves.

Second, the government must have '€œconfidence'€ and exercise control in order to ensure an ample food supply, but within reasonable prices.

We'€™ve frequently been warned by the international community, i.e. the World Trade Organization [WTO], to comply with market mechanisms in regards to the country'€™s food policy. But in my opinion, such principles should only be applied on the condition we have ample food supplies and not when we still rely mostly on imports.

Can you name other sectors requiring improvements?

One is energy conservation. As a nation, we lack commitment in this sector. We lack the commitment to set gas, in which Indonesia is abundant, as an energy alternative to oil.

We have long delayed establishing infrastructure for gas. Another example is the controversial policy to export crude oil, but to import refined oil. It'€™s undoubtedly the job of the '€œoil mafia'€.

Another is education. Apart from the curriculum, our education policy has failed to provide the adequate number of teachers in remote and difficult-to-reach regions. Teachers still prefer to teach in regions or nearby cities.

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