Jusuf Kalla

Vice President Jusuf Kalla will leave office on Sunday, when vice president-elect Ma’ruf Amin is sworn in together with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. On Thursday, Kalla spoke to The Jakarta Post’s Nezar Patria, Dwi Atmanta, Kurniawan Hari, Marguerite Afra Sapiie and Karina M. Tehusijarana about his reflections on the past and plans for the future. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Question: What are your plans for the day after you leave office?

Answer: Resting. For the time being, resting after one or two days I will go for a trip, travel overseas. Only after about two months, I’ll be active in areas such as social work and religion.

I will be active again in social fields, particularly through the Red Cross. Also in the field of education, because I am on the board of many universities and educational institutions. Thirdly, I will also be active in religious affairs (Kalla chairs the Indonesian Mosque Council).

Among the many programs that the government of Jokowi and Kalla has completed, which one do you consider the most significant?

There are many programs, they are all significant. To me, everything that we work on is important, none is more important than the other. Infrastructure is important, education is important, social work is important, political stability is important, reducing poverty is important. They are all important.

What do you think are the pressing challenges for the next administration?

[The government] needs to anticipate the ongoing situation. Many have analyzed that in the next few years, the world will face many challenges that we have to overcome.

Those challenges include a decline in exports and the need to boost investment. Those have to be prioritized. Besides that, education is important. We have to improve our competitiveness by increasing the capabilities of our younger generation in technology and other fields.

How do you view the state of democracy in Indonesia in the past five years?

We, Indonesia, are very democratic, sometimes in an excessive way compared to many countries in Asia. We do not have a control mechanism: the House of Representatives is free [to criticize], social media is free [to criticize], the media is also very open.

The core of democracy is elections, and we have repeatedly held very free and open elections, and people are free to express their opinions. So since the Reform Era, democracy has functioned according to the regulations and the essence of democracy itself.

You have a lot of experience in conflict resolution and peacebuilding in places such as Aceh, Poso and Ambon. Would you be willing to help address the Papua conflict?

Yes, [I am willing to do] whatever the government asks me to do as long as it fits my capability. I have told Pak Jokowi directly that I am ready to help the government in matters of conflict resolution.

Do you have a particular formula for Papua in mind?

Papua is a territory that has its own values that are not necessarily the same as what we have in mind. For example, we build roads, create good transportation links, but the Papuan people may not feel that they bring them much benefit. So we have to change our perception of developing Papua.

However, the party that should take the most responsibility for the situation is the local government. In all things, Papua is very federal. Only native Papuans are allowed to lead regencies, mayoralties and provinces there. [Papua] has also received sufficient funds, even exceeding its own income capacity.

Just as a note, last year the central government received around Rp 24 trillion (US$1.7 billion) in revenue from Papua, but the funds disbursed to Papua through the regional administrations reached about Rp 65 trillion. The central government’s infrastructure development such as roads, bridges, airports and educational facilities reached around Rp 25 trillion. In total, the funds exceeded Rp 90 trillion.

So Papua is heavily subsidized even outside of the special autonomy funds. So really the problem is an internal problem. Between the provincial administration and regency administrations, maybe those funds are not being used correctly, thus creating dissatisfaction.

[Papuans] think that is the central government’s fault but it’s actually the regional administration; according to the Papua Special Autonomy Law, the responsibility rests with the governor and the regents and mayors.

There has been a plan to amend the Constitution to reinstate the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN), but there are concerns that the amendment could widen to include the abolition of direct elections. What is your view?

The Constitution has been amended four times to accommodate the dynamics of the public’s aspirations. The Constitution itself should be dynamic too. The American constitution has been amended dozens of times, in India the constitution has been amended around 70 times. So amending the Constitution is normal.

But we want the core principles such as direct elections, which is one of the people’s rights, to remain unchanged. If it’s just to restore the GBHN then go ahead.

If the GBHN are restored, presidential candidates no longer need to present a mission statement, because the vision must adhere to the state’s vision. It’s just a matter of how to achieve that vision. There will no longer be things like the Nawacita [nine key development programs proposed by Jokowi during his presidential campaign]. Because the GBHN will be the state’s vision.

Do you have any plans to write a memoir?

I haven’t ever written a book, but friends and writers have written books about me from different angles. There have been about 47 books written about me. It’s true that I’m planning to write a memoir which will be more complete. But I’m not a good writer so someone else will do it for me. I will just be a source.

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