yellow type is suggested window

yellow type is suggested window

;JP;
ANPAa..r..
speech-Presidential-Susilo

JP/3/SPEECH

Now is the time for action: President Susilo

Today we are indeed more grateful to God Almighty. Having gone
a long election process, today before the members of the People's
Consultative Assembly, I and Mr. Jusuf Kalla and took our oaths
as the President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia
for the period of 2004-2009. Our inauguration today marked the
beginning of a new government, which received a mandate directly
from the people. Let me take this opportunity to express my
deepest gratitude to the Indonesian people, for your
participation support and trust.

Allow me -- personally and on behalf of the Vice President
Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, as well as on behalf of the entire nation
-- to express our deepest gratitude and highest appreciation to
Madam Megawati Soekarnoputri and Mr. Hamzah Haz, for their
greatest efforts in preserving the constitution, leading the
government, and guiding the nation successfully during their
tenure as the President and Vice President 2001-2004
respectively.

Indeed, this country and the entire nation shall remember and
cherish all great deeds of President Megawati and Vice President
Hamzah Haz. In the spirit of our nation's highest tradition, I,
as the President of the Republic of Indonesia, take my pledge to
always preserve my good ties of brotherhood with Madam Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Mr. Hamzah Haz, as our two national figures.

All of us must remember the wisdom of our great founding
father, the former president Sukarno, who once reminded us:
"United we stand, divided we fall."

Today, we have remarkably passed one of the most important
tests of our history.

First, our nation has successfully undertaken the national
elections in a democratic, fair, orderly, and peaceful manner.
This year's elections are by all means the most ambitious, most
difficult, and most complicated electoral marathons in the world,
and yet, we are successful in conducting those elections.

Indeed, we are all proud of our electoral commission (KPU),
who managed to undertake this difficult task independently,
professionally and responsibly.

Second, as we have just witnessed in today's solemn ceremony,
our nation has just accomplished the process of power transfer
constitutionally, democratically, orderly and peacefully. Thank
God, our nation is now more matured in democracy, and able to
build a more matured political culture.

With such a great success, not only are we successful in
securing our step as a big democracy, but we also have become a
model for the world's community of democracies.

Our great nation has undertaken two elections since reformasi:
In 1999 and in 2004. In any democratic transition of any country,
the second election is normally regarded as the critical one, the
litmus test for the maturity of democracy.

With the formidable success of our elections this year, we
have indeed made one forward step in realizing a political
modernization in Indonesia.

Through our legislative election this year, we have also made
our one step ahead in realizing political regeneration in
Indonesia, as we can clearly witness through new and fresh faces
in our honorable People's Assembly.

Thank God, the 2004 elections are now over. It is the time for
us to walk together for our future. We have passed our moment of
competition, now it is time for unity. Our moment of words and
promises are now over, as it is our time to make real deeds and
works. It is our time to unite in creation.

It is the time for us to concentrate our determination,
spirit, thoughts and attention to overcome various challenges and
problems that we are now facing -- the challenge and problems
faced by our people, our nation and country. We must overcome
those challenges together. Indeed, the government that I lead
cannot possibly overcome them with the support and participation
of our people, and all national components.

As we all know, to the founding father of this nation, their
biggest challenge was to set our nation and people free from
colonialists. To the subsequent generation, including ours, the
greatest challenge is to free our people from poverty, ignorance,
backwardness, and all problems that prevent the growth of our
people's ability. More specifically, the challenge of our era is
to consolidate our democracy and accomplish our agenda of reform.

A consolidated democracy that is continually developed will
provide us a solid ground for the life of our nationhood and
statecraft. Within such a more democratic life, we can manage to
successfully implement our national agenda, including the
accomplishment of various agenda of reform.

With our perseverance, belief and hard work, God willing, our
nation and beloved country will continue to grow -- people will
be more prosperous within a safer and just life. And, with all
those conviction, I am confident that our nation will become a
respected nation, and be respected by other nations in the world.

Today's mood of happiness is engulfed by huge optimism.
However we must remember that we will go through a difficult way
and will face a huge challenge ahead:

o Our economic growth this year, which is still far less than 7
percent, is definitely inadequate in generating more employment.
o More than 10 million of our fellow countrymen are still out of
jobs.
o Needless to remind you that 16 percent of our people are still
living below the poverty line.
o Although our debt to the Gross National Product ratio tends to
decline, yet the debt problem will likely continue to be a huge
problem to our economy.
o Our brothers and sisters in Aceh and Papua still live in
anxiety.
o Security in Poso and Maluku is still well under control,
although not entirely recovered.
o Corruption, collusion and nepotism are still rampant and
continue to be our systematic problem.
o The international situation is far from settled.
o The price of oil continues to rise well above the assumptions
of our national budget.
o And, the imminent threats of terrorism and other forms of
transnational crimes will continue to haunt us.

Let us work harder to overcome all those difficult challenges.

Tomorrow morning, on Oct. 21, God willing, I will inaugurate
the members of my cabinet for 2004-2009. Soon after that, we will
immediately start to formulate and implement the initial steps of
government policy.

In the next few months, my administration will concentrate on
the domestic problems.
o My administration will stimulate the economy in order to
achieve a higher economic growth that can absorb more employment
and help alleviating poverty.
o My administration will continue to adopt and implement an open
economic policies in order to integrate the economy to the
regional and international economies. In doing so, the government
will focus on the short and medium term agenda in enhancing
productivity and competitiveness.
o My administration will encourage more investors to build our
infrastructure.
o My administration will actively launch an anti-corruption
program, which, I, myself, will lead.
o My administration will give a special attention on the handling
of conflicts in Aceh and Papua.
o My administration will prioritize and improve government's
policies on education and health sectors.
o My administration will intensify constructive dialogs with
economic actors, especially our business communities, including
investors, whom I really expect to be the engine of our economy.
o My administraiton will do our utmost to establish clean and
good governance, which is responsive towards the public's needs
and aspirations.

But let me remind you: It is impossible to resolve all of
those complicated problems within 100 days. It is not as easy as
turning the palm of our hands.

But I have a strong conviction that our determination and
goodwill are far more superior to the problems we are facing. At
this point, our character as a great nation is truly under a
severe test.

For a great nation, the harder the test, the higher its
tenacity; the more difficult the ordeal, the stronger its faith;
the stronger the storm, the stronger its solidarity; and the more
difficult challenge to our nationhood, the stronger our sense of
unity. Let us prove and build our greatness as a nation.

God willing, with our solidarity and hard work, we will be
able to create a better condition for Indonesia, safer, more just
and more prosperous.

With my unfettered feelings and unfeigned confidence, today we
are opening a new chapter in the history of our nation. This is
the time to greet a new dawn.

To all of the Indonesian people, wherever you are, I would
like to wholeheartedly express my sincere gratitude for your
support and confidence in myself and Mr. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla.
Although I am now the President, but I am not different from each
and every one of you -- I am just an ordinary citizen from an
ordinary family, born and raised by the state and community.

With the mandate I received directly from you, I am determined
to become not only the President of the Republic of Indonesia,
but also the President of the Indonesians, all of the Indonesian
people.

I will keep this noble political contract with the people. I
will dedicate my every thought, energy and time to promote and
protect each Indonesian soul.

To all members of the House of Representatives and the
Regional Legislative Councils, Vice President Jusuf Kalla and I
have a strong commitment to cooperate with all of you for the
sake of our national interests -- the interests of the Indonesian
people as emanated in our constitution and laws that we must all
duly uphold.

For that matter, I sincerely urge that we can work together in
overcoming various difficult problems that we are facing. The
people surely demand us to work closely in creating more jobs,
alleviating poverty, redeveloping our infrastructure and many
other problems faced by the people. The people need our
leadership and role-model.

To all civil servants -- especially civilian civil servants
employed at the central and regional levels, to our men and women
in uniform, to our policemen and policewomen, to the employees of
state owned enterprises -- I ask you all to welcome this new
government with new spirit, improved services and to create a
better life, together with all of the people. You hold a
responsibility of many important things of our life. Let us do
our tasks and duty with a full sense of responsibility. We are
all public servants. The government and the entire civil servants
are indeed here to assist and serve the public, the country. Keep
up the spirit to serve. Any country can be successful only if it
is supported by clean, professional state apparatuses, responsive
towards the aspiration and development of its people.

To all of our friends all over the world, please accept our
open arms of friendship.

My administration will continue to uphold the free and active
principle of foreign policy and Indonesia is determined to become
the voice that promotes peace, increase prosperity and defends
justice. Indonesia will continue to grow as a democratic, open,
modern, pluralistic and tolerant nation.

I would like to especially express my highest appreciation to
all of our state guests from our friendly and neighboring
countries for their presence in the inauguration ceremony at the
Assembly/legislature building this morning, have truly given us a
remarkable honor.

Indeed, we are honored by the presence of His Excellency, the
Honorable Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia;
His Majesty Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah of the Brunei Darussalam; His
Excellency, the Honorable Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of
the Republic of Singapore; His Excellency, the Honorable John
Howard, Prime Minister of Australia; and His Excellency, the
Honorable Mari Alkatiri, the Prime Minister of Timor Leste. We
would also like to express our gratitude to the leaders of
friendly countries who have sent their special envoys, from the
Netherlands, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.
Personally, and on behalf of the entire Indonesian people, I am
truly delightful and honored for his Excellencies' attention to
the new government that I lead.

Having been inaugurated as the President and Vice President
this morning, I will focus my attention to finish the composition
of Cabinet for 2004-2009, which God willing will be announced
tonight (Wednesday night). Furthermore, God willing, I will
inaugurate this Cabinet (on Thursday), with a great hope that
this Cabinet can immediately adapt and work well.

Let me ensure you that I and the entire new government will
work hard to keep the people's trust. I accordingly ask for your
blessing, support and trust of the entire Indonesian people and
the whole nation in order to realize the constitutional calls
within the next five years. May Allah bless us all with guidance
and strength.