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COMMENTARY: Jokowinomics in the making
Jokowi’s economic justice policies cover three main pillars: land-based, access-based and human resource-based policies.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo speaks in a press conference at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
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his person, at first glance, is pragmatic — not at all philosophical or ideological in his policies. But toward his third year in office, he issued a very ideological economic policy: ekonomi berkeadilan (economic justice policies). If this gets implemented well, it would be the birth of Jokowinomics.
In terms of economic policy, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took a very different approach than his predecessors. He took a very pragmatic approach in making policies, often with neither academic studies nor public consultations.
When he came to office two and half years ago, he immediately made big cuts in the burdensome fuel subsidies, a very sensitive decision politically, and yet he managed to survive the policy as global fuel prices were falling in tandem.
As he got fiscal space from the subsidy cut, Jokowi launched his signature policy of building massive infrastructure projects — 35,000 kilowatts of power plants, 2,650 kilometers of new roads, 1,000 km of new toll roads, 3,258 km of new railroads, 15 new airports and 24 new ports, just to name a few.
It seems Jokowi wants to build grandiose things, like what our first president Sukarno did, but minus the ideology.
When the budget to finance his infrastructure was getting dry, Jokowi launched a tax amnesty last year. Much to the surprise of its critics, the program proved successful, netting additional tax revenues of Rp 146.7 trillion (US$11 billion), out of the declared assets of Rp 4,734 trillion. It was one of the most successful in the world.
In addition, he is also courting private investment to help finance his infrastructure. To do so, he initiated a series of economic packages. Since the launch of the first package in September last year, his government has issued a total of 14. The main aim is to improve the business climate.
