Work hard to attain social justice, President says
Work hard to attain social justice, President says
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that Indonesia
must persevere in its effort to attain the lofty goal of social
justice for all.
"Obviously, materializing social justice and common prosperity
cannot be achieved in a short period of time," the president said
when opening the fourth congress of MKGR, a mass organization
affiliated with the government-backed Golkar.
Soeharto, accompanied by MKGR chairperson Mien Sugandhi, said
the nation has yet to work hard to achieve a reasonably high
growth rate.
"We have yet to equalize the distribution of development
gains," he said, adding that Indonesia's present achievements do
not represent the final goal of the development programs.
Soeharto did not give any background to his remarks. While his
relative success in economic development is unquestioned, his
critics say the lack of social justice remains a black spot in
his 26-year administration.
Social justice for all is the fifth and last tenet of
Pancasila, the state ideology. The other four are belief in one
God, humanitarianism, national unity and consensus democracy.
The president said he believes the nation's current
development is "on the right track."
He pointed out that during his long rule, millions of people
have been rescued from the jaws of poverty while development
programs have been introduced in every single village across the
archipelago.
"What we need to do now is improve on our present achievements
to speed up and better orient the development process," he said
at the ceremony attended by senior officials.
Globalization
Addressing the role of mass organizations, he said ones like
MKGR were needed to improve the nation's resilience -- which he
said was vital for Indonesia to keep pace with the rapid current
of globalization.
The president added that it would be useless to resist the
speedy globalization trend, but advised Indonesians to take in
the positive impacts of the process.
"We must not resist the globalization process because we are
part of the fast changing world community," he said.
Soeharto said scientific and technological advancements had
accelerated the globalization process, posing more complex
challenges for a growing country like Indonesia.
"What we should do is improve our awareness and intellectual
capacity so that we can contribute to the globalization in a
creative fashion," he said.
About 350 organization members took part in the four-day
congress held at the Pondok Gede Haj hostels in East Jakarta.
Electing a new board of executives is the top item on the
agenda. Observers say Sugandhi, who is also the state minister
for the role of women, is likely to retain her top post because
she still commands strong support.
MKGR is one of several army-backed organizations which founded
Golkar in 1964 to counter the rising power of the Indonesian
Communist Party (PKI), which has been outlawed since 1966. (pan)