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Jakarta Post

Editorial: Ring out the old

This hasn’t been a bad year for Indonesia

The Jakarta Post
Wed, December 31, 2014

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Editorial: Ring out the old

T

his hasn'€™t been a bad year for Indonesia. The nation has plenty of reasons to be cheerful even though the year 2014 has had its share of tragedies and disasters that require us to remain circumspect in celebrating the old year and welcoming the new year.

In October, we bid adieu to former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after 10 years of his leadership and welcomed President Joko '€œJokowi'€™ Widodo in his place. What was remarkable about this change was not so much the peaceful transition, for this has become a national tradition with orderly changes in the national guards since 1998.

Jokowi'€™s election marked an official break with the past regime. Unlike all of his four predecessors, Jokowi has no links with the corrupt political system and culture that had evolved in the three decades of Soeharto. He brings with him fresh changes not in only in his vision and policies, but also in a new political culture that is far more open and tolerant.

In the eyes of the world, Indonesia remains an emerging democracy with all its consequences, including the possibilities of failure and of reverting back to authoritarian rule. The elections proved democracy has grown stronger, although some challenges remain. This should strengthen our faith in democracy and belief that our elected leaders will continue to work to improve the wellbeing and welfare of the people.

Indonesia this year launched a national healthcare program, a major achievement for any nation but something that we may have underplayed or overlooked completely because of lingering questions about its effectiveness and sustainability. Certainly much more work is needed before the program becomes truly universal.

The national healthcare service was launched with little fanfare on Jan. 1, but President Jokowi quickly took up the cause and made its development one of his main priorities, along with other social-entitlement programs that he launched soon after his inauguration.

The economy seems to have done relatively well in 2014, growing by more than 5 percent. Not a bad feat considering the difficult circumstances Indonesia faced internally and externally. At least, President Jokowi has averted the explosive fiscal crisis from the soaring fuel subsidies by raising fuel prices in November.

The year also saw the expansion of the public sphere, thanks to the growing usage of social-media platforms. In spite of its downsides and abuses, the Internet has empowered people vis-à-vis the powers that be, who control many traditional media outlets. Democracy would have been considerably poorer in Indonesia in 2014 without the Internet.

Closing the year, we commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Aceh tsunami tragedy but we really needed no reminding. The deadly landslides in Central Java and the AirAsia plane crash this month are reminders that disasters and tragedies will continue to be part of our lives as a nation.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of tragedies and the less fortunate among us, but we should nevertheless ring out the old year, and pray for a better year in 2015.

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