Downstreaming as a Strategic Solution to Tackle the Challenge of Modern Colonialisation

Downstreaming is seen not merely as an industrial strategy, but as part of the nation’s effort to create added value and broader welfare. By managing natural resources from upstream to downstream domestically, the benefits created do not stop at economic metrics but strengthen national independence. Religious figure Husein Ja’far Al Hadar said that modern colonisation can occur when a nation only sells raw materials without further processing. ‘If we only sell it raw, we have not become masters of our own country. When we start thinking downstreaming, that is a step towards independence,’ Husein Ja’far said in a statement, quoted Saturday, 7 March 2026. In his view, independence does not mean closing oneself off from the world. A nation continues to interact and cooperate, but has control over the management of its own wealth. ‘Being self-sufficient does not mean being alone. We cannot live by ourselves, but we must become masters of our own country. Managing from upstream to downstream for the good of the nation,’ he said. He emphasised that the main measure of policy and economic activity is the benefits produced. In Islamic teachings, Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Khairunnas anfa’uhum linnas’ — the best of people are those most beneficial to people. ‘The measure of goodness is benefits. Not only for a group, not only for their religion, but for all people, even all of creation,’ said Husein Ja’far. Therefore, he continued, resource management must be intended as a form of thanks for God’s blessings, carried out in the right way, and directed towards common maslahat. ‘The right downstreaming is the one that brings additional benefits. Adds value for the nation, strengthens sovereignty, and continues to maintain sustainability,’ he said. With this approach, downstreaming as practised by the MIND ID Group is hoped not only to be an economic agenda, but also a manifestation of the moral responsibility of a nation in managing natural resources for the common good.