RI urgently needs to build new social consensus<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A new social consensus is urgently needed so as to bring about
\nsystematic transformation in Indonesian politics, the economy,
\nand society amid the prolonged multidimensional crisis that has
\nled the nation struggling through a difficult transition period,
\na minister said on Friday.<\/p>\n
State Minister for Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie
\nunderlined the importance of a social consensus, saying the
\ntransition could not be made solely on the basis of a technical,
\neconomic or business approach.<\/p>\n
\"It requires the building of a new social consensus at the
\nheart of which lies a socially just way of sharing the costs and
\nburdens of the economic and political restructuring necessary to
\nbring about a convincing recovery,\" Kwik said at the launching of
\na report on the Indonesian Human Development Report 2001 here.<\/p>\n
The report, the first to ever be produced in Indonesia, was
\njointly prepared by the National Development Planning Board
\n(Bappenas), Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), and the United
\nNations Development Program (UNDP).<\/p>\n
Kwik said that a social consensus designed to ensure that
\ndecentralization works in favor of all Indonesians, comprised an
\nagreement that all Indonesians were entitled to nationally
\nmandated standards of human development.<\/p>\n
They were entitled to be literate, to be healthy and to live
\nas one nation in peace and security, he said.<\/p>\n
Kwik added the preconditions for a revised vision of future
\npriorities included consolidation of democratic institutions that
\nwere based on citizens' rights.<\/p>\n
Because a severe economic crisis is by nature socially
\ndivisive, democracy is needed as the most effective way of
\ncreating an institutional framework for containing disagreement
\npeacefully.<\/p>\n
The report says that the policy of devolving power to the
\nregions will make government even more complex.<\/p>\n
The economic structure which made Indonesia one of East Asia's
\n\"miracle economies\" until the 1997 crisis was, in any case,
\nstarting to become outdated, the report says.<\/p>\n
Rekindling economic and human development will involve
\n\"stepping up the technology ladder to produce goods that embody
\nhigher levels of productivity\" within a stable social and
\npolitical environment.<\/p>\n
According to the report, Indonesia must put people first with
\nmajor investment in education and health care if it wants to
\nrecreate the economic miracle of past decades.<\/p>\n
The report demands much greater investment in education,
\nnoting that Indonesia spends only around 1.4 percent of gross
\nnational product compared to a global average of 4.5 percent.
\nHealth spending should also become a priority.<\/p>\n
Without a more highly qualified workforce, Indonesia will be
\nunable to benefit even from the lower level spin-off effects of
\nhigher technology production. And without delivering better
\nstandards of health and other social services, social unrest is
\nlikely to persist.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia faces enormous and diverse challenges --
\nconsolidating democracy, addressing regional conflicts and
\nregenerating the economy,\" says the report.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia now has to pursue human development while deep in
\ndebt, restructuring its economy and coping with a more
\ncompetitive and unstable economic environment.<\/p>\n
\"The key, however, is to recognize how all these issues
\nconnect -- the social, the economic and the political -- and to
\nbring this recognition to the forefront of public consciousness.\"<\/p>\n
Head of the BPS Soedarti Surbakti, meanwhile, said the report
\nnot only showed the level of human development Indonesia had
\nattained, but also progresses in democracy, economic growth and
\nthe relationships between these three aspects.<\/p>\n
\"Although it is said to be the first report, efforts to
\ncompose such an indicator have been underway for a long time,\"
\nSoedarti said.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the launching of the report, UNDP Resident
\nRepresentative Bo Asplund said that the report was much more than
\nan advocacy tool. \"It contains many insightful policy
\nsuggestions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He further said a compact on human development had the obvious
\npotential of contributing to national cohesion while
\nsimultaneously deepening Indonesia's commitment to human
\ndevelopment.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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