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‘Our goal is not only to escape the pandemic’: Jokowi wants nation to take leap
Faced with the task of keeping Southeast Asia’s largest economy afloat, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo asked the people's support in seeking transformation out of a crisis.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo greets lawmakers on Friday before his annual state of the nation address at the People's Consultative Assembly in Jakarta to commemorate 75 years of the nation's independence. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
W
o:p>Wrapped in the traditional black and golden garb of the people of East Nusa Tenggara, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made a big ask when he gave his annual state of the nation address in the chambers of the People’s Consultative Assembly in Jakarta on Friday.
He asked the people to support his massive development drive, even in the midst of an unfurling multidimensional crisis.
“Our current goal is not only to escape the pandemic but also to get through the crisis. We are taking measures to take a big leap by making the most of the ongoing crisis,” Jokowi said.
In his speech, held to commemorate Indonesia’s 75th Independence Day that falls on Monday, the President acknowledged that, like most countries in the world today, Indonesia was facing one of the worst economic crises in history, due to a pandemic that has killed nearly 800,000 people globally.
“In the first quarter of 2020, our economy grew by 2.97 percent, but in the second quarter, [it] contracted by 5.32 percent,” he said. “Developed [economies] even reported [contractions] of more than 10 percent.”
However, the former businessman encouraged the nation to embrace the setbacks and seize the moment to “catch up” with developed countries.
With his trademark use of analogies, the President compared the current crisis to a computer crash, and sought major transformation out of a crisis.
