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Indonesia needs to realize its true potential: UK ambassador
"If Indonesia is successful as a democratic country, where the world’s largest Muslim population is, that is good not only for Indonesians but actually for all democratic countries and Muslim communities around the world."
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Moazzam Malik (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
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em>Appointed the United Kingdom’s caretaker for its bilateral relationship with Indonesia for the past four years, British Ambassador Moazzam Malik has seen the mission in Jakarta grow by almost 50 percent amid a push for greater engagement. The popular envoy, who will officially end his term on Friday, has argued how this perceived growth is proof of “deepening” UK-Indonesian ties. The Jakarta Post’s Agnes Anya recently sat down with the fluent Indonesian speaker about his hopes for the bilateral relationship. Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Question: After four years of working on improving the solid UK-Indonesia relationship, what is there left to improve?
Answer: There is still a lot that we can do together. Back in the UK, the awareness of Indonesia is still quite limited, although more and more Brits are coming here for holiday, business, study and/or joint research. That is work not just for me but also Indonesia. Indonesia needs to be telling the world and the UK more about itself. So my hope is that we can raise awareness of Indonesia in the UK, [as there is] a very strong awareness of the UK in Indonesia.
My aspirations for Indonesia as I leave: I hope to see Indonesia succeed over the years to come in five big areas.
I hope that Indonesia can promote democratic values, including the rights of minorities. If Indonesia is successful as a democratic country, where the world’s largest Muslim population is, that is good not only for Indonesians but actually for all democratic countries and Muslim communities around the world. Indonesia can be an example that we can all look to learn from and to emulate.
Second, in terms of economic reform, Indonesia has great potential, but to achieve that it needs to be open. Often countries overestimate their market power and sometimes Indonesia is at risk of doing that. Indonesia’s route to economic success lies in openness because through openness, Indonesia will be able to compete in the 21st century, not only in the ASEAN region but at a global level. Through openness, you can also accelerate your journey right by getting the world’s most talented workers to come and collaborate with Indonesian workers.
Third, I think what is important for me is education because, at the end of the day, any country’s long-run competitiveness depends critically on the quality of its human resources. In education, there is a lot that we can do to support Indonesia’s journey. We have some of the best universities in the world. They are interested and eager to collaborate internationally.
