Time for new national vision, strategy: Mega<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Defying the conservative disposition which many
\npundits had assigned to her, President Megawati Soekarnoputri on
\nThursday called for a revamp of the nation's vision and strategy
\nin keeping with the changing times.<\/p>\n
\"The altered conditions compel us to reorganize and
\nreinvigorate the vision of our future, something that perhaps our
\nown founding fathers never envisioned,\" Megawati said during a
\nkeynote address to a national development strategy seminar.<\/p>\n
Changing the nation's vision must begin with amending the 1945
\nConstitution, she said, reiterating her call to establish a
\nconstitutional commission to be entrusted with the task.<\/p>\n
She added that the authority to change the country's basic law
\nmust remain with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
Her call for a constitutional commission, first broached on
\nAug. 16, has been lauded by various non-governmental
\norganizations (NGOs), which have been lobbying for sweeping
\nchanges to the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
They said various amendments introduced by the MPR since 1998
\nhad been guided by the self-interest of MPR factions in enhancing
\ntheir own power in relation to the presidency.<\/p>\n
In response, MPR leaders have insisted that any constitutional
\ncommission must work under their auspices.<\/p>\n
Megawati's call for a constitutional commission, and now for a
\nnew national vision and strategy, has defied pundit's predictions
\nbefore her rise to the presidency last month. Many observers
\nforeshadowed a conservative leader who would strive to retain as
\nmany of her father, Indonesia's first president, Sukarno's
\nlegacies as possible, including the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
In her speech, Megawati said Indonesia today lived in a world
\nthat was rapidly changing, driven by technological advancement
\nas much as by the changing attitudes and expectations of its
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Changing the Constitution alone would not be enough, she said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia needs to adjust and renew its policies and
\nstrategies to mobilize all of its resources more effectively and
\nefficiently to achieve a new vision, she said.<\/p>\n
Various state institutions must now be revamped in accordance
\nwith the changing conditions and demands of the time, she said.<\/p>\n
Megawati said there was something fundamentally wrong in the
\nnational development strategy, evidenced by the huge leak in
\nstate finances, in the poor quality of the country's products and
\nthe growing imbalance in the distribution of wealth.<\/p>\n
\"At times, this has prompted us to ask where we went wrong.\"<\/p>\n
Such questions, she added, \"led us to contemplate whether we
\ncould think of a new development system, a new method, that is
\nnot based on projects or other methods we have used all this
\ntime.\"<\/p>\n
Megawati did not spell out the new vision and strategy that
\nIndonesia should adopt today, saying that this was something that
\nthe public must work on, through discussions and seminars like
\nTuesday's gathering.<\/p>\n
The seminar was organized by the alumni association of the
\nGadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. (dja\/emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/time-for-new-national-vision-strategy-mega-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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