President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo speaks at the Institute of Indonesian Engineers (PII) congress in Jakarta on Saturday. (Courtesy of the Presidential Office)

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has said that Indonesia should be ready to compete in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), set to start in January, although business communities fear the country could lose out amid increased competition and could be flooded with products and commodities from other ASEAN members.

Jokowi said on Saturday that nearly all heads of states of ASEAN member countries had expressed fear that their respective countries would be flooded by products and commodities from Indonesia and therefore, they considered that Indonesia would benefit from the commencement of the community.

'€œThe ASEAN Economic Community is only two weeks from now. Many have asked me if we are ready,'€ Jokowi said when speaking at the Association of Indonesian Engineers (PII) congress in Jakarta on Saturday, as stated in a press release from the Presidential Office.

'€œWhy should we be afraid?'€ the President continued, adding that the key to winning the competition was infrastructure. Therefore, he added, the government would boost infrastructure development across the country by allocating Rp 313 trillion (US$22.50 billion).

'€œWe should no longer move backward. We should not hesitate. All that has been done and will be done is in the interests of the people,'€ he stressed.

As an example, he said that Indonesia had 800 kilometers of toll roads and would develop another 1,000 kilometers of highways within the next five years. His government would also continue railway projects outside Java and would boost energy supplies by deregulating licensing procedures for investors.

He said he understood that many doubted the government'€™s capability to materialize its plans because in the past numerous projects had been planned but not followed up.

The President cited his own experience in announcing plans to develop railway projects in Sumatra. '€œ[Someone asked me], '€˜It is true Pak? Don'€™t just break ground [on the project]. It was 30 years ago [that the project was first planned], but it has never been implemented'€™,'€ Jokowi said, quoting a complaint from a resident.

Similarly, according to Jokowi, Indonesia should prepare to accept membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and be ready to compete in a market of a wider group of countries, namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US.

The President acknowledged that many people did not agree with the idea to join the group, but stressed the need for Indonesian people to prepare themselves to compete in the global market. '€œOur vision should be ready to compete. We should have courage to face [the competition],'€ he said. (bbn)

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