TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Maritime vision still sketchy
Work, work, work: President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (third and fourth from left) pose with their 34 newly inaugurated Cabinet ministers at the Presidential Palace on Monday
Change Size
W
span class="inline inline-center">Work, work, work: President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (third and fourth from left) pose with their 34 newly inaugurated Cabinet ministers at the Presidential Palace on Monday. JP/Jerry Adiguna
The commitment of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to restore Indonesia as a maritime power, a game-changing policy that could define his administration, is now being put to the test.
After one week in power and after inaugurating his Cabinet members on Monday, only a few details have emerged on how Jokowi will achieve his maritime ambitions and on how his ministers will translate the policies into reality.
Jokowi has set up a new Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister and appointed Indroyono Soesilo, a fisheries and aquaculture resource division director at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to man the helm.
Indroyono's office will coordinate the Transportation Ministry, the Tourism Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.
In a press conference on Monday, Indroyono could only lay out the general plans for materializing Jokowi's ambitions.
According to Indroyono, one of the first priorities for the sea-based transportation sector is to build a number of seaports from Belawan in North Sumatra to Sorong in West Papua to significantly improve domestic connectivity. This would be financed by private investors.
'While investors queue to get involved in seaport projects, they often face several problems, such as in getting licenses. That's why we aim to address this issue, for example by simplifying the licensing process,' Indroyono said at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) headquarters where he is to be temporarily based.
Indroyono said the programs in the fisheries sector would focus on improving the prosperity of the 2.4 million fishermen nationwide.
To achieve that the government may, among other things, provide subsidized diesel fuel and insurance for fishing vessels, as well as cut the middlemen out of the trade chains.
Also included in the plan is the promotion of sea-based tourism, which would include helping to lure more cruise vessels to Indonesian waters to boost local economies in the sprawling archipelago.
'Indonesia is one of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world and it's also rich in biodiversity. By allowing these ships to travel on our seas, they can pass through our beautiful islands and buy what they need, providing income to our local people,' Indroyono said.
In addition to these programs, his office will also promote onshore oil and gas fields as well as utilize non-conventional energy resources, such as currents and winds, to shift dependency off fossil fuels.
In his first speech during his inauguration ceremony last week, Jokowi repeated his campaign promises to call on the public to work hard 'to restore Indonesia as a maritime power'.
'The oceans, the seas, the straits and the bays are the future of our civilization. For far too long, we have turned our backs on the seas, the oceans, the straits and the bays,' Jokowi said.
'Now is the time to restore Jalesveva Jayamahe [At sea we are victorious], the motto of our forefathers. We should return to sailing the seas.'
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said she had yet to receive instructions from Jokowi on the strategy to develop the maritime sector.
'I haven't received any instructions yet. But for a start, I cannot be bribed,' said Susi, who has owned several fisheries companies and an airline, Susi Air, that serves frontier routes.
Susi, a high-school drop-out, said her 33 years of experience in the fisheries sector could well be replicated for the development of the country's fisheries.
'It is an irony to us that the fisheries sector has a huge potential but has yet to be tapped. It's like a mouse dying of hunger in a barn full of rice,' she said.
While Susi and Indroyono have had some exposure to the maritime sector, other related ministers seem to have less of a background in the field.
Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, for example, is a former banker and president director of state-owned train operator PT KAI, while Tourism Minister Arief Yahya is a former president of state telecommunications firm PT Telkom.
Jokowi has yet to explain the reason behind the inclusion of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in the maritime portfolio.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, however, said that coordination would not be a problem between Indroyono and Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil.
'Coordination is not a big problem as long as we work to ensure all programs are carried out,' he said.
Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef) director Enny Sri Hartati said that it would take a paradigm shift to implement Jokowi's maritime ambitions as previous administrations have for decades focused largely on land development.
'This is a Herculean task, but as long as there is a serious commitment to the ambition, the maritime programs can be delivered as envisioned,' said Enny.
Committing to prioritizing Indonesia's identity as an archipelagic state
* Engage in maritime diplomacy to accelerate the settlement of border issues with 10 neighboring countries
* Ensure Indonesia's territorial integrity
* Secure natural resources and special economic zones
* Intensify defense diplomacy
* Ease maritime rivalries between major nations and promote territorial-dispute settlements
Source: Excerpts from Jokowi-Kalla programs (submitted to the General Elections Commission in May)
