Indonesia is rich, yet poor. Indonesia is is smart, yet foolish. Indonesia is huge, but weak. Welcome to Indonesia, the land of contradictions.
What saddens me is the fact that there are many countries which gained their independence as long as or even later than Indonesia did, but nowadays they've already become so gigantic and influential in terms of economic, political, and any kinds of sectors. It seems that Indonesia is left far away behind. In this age of technology, Indonesia is like a snail trying to pursue other countries which seemingly can run like a young stallion.
Apart from that, I'm trying to be optimistic, at least for now as I'd love to see this nation reviving and regaining its glory in the past, when Gajahmada was uniting this vast archipelago.
Last night I watched some public officials, outstanding scholars, experienced leaders and reliable pundits of the country gathering to talk about the return of Indonesia. I think it's worth knowing to see how these people of authority speak up their mind bluntly on the future forecast of this 64-year-old country.
POTENTIALS
Marie Elka Pangestu initiated the discussion by stating the varied kinds of potentials Indonesia already has but are left unmanaged. Indonesia, as Pangestu went on, possesses abundant amount of valuable natural resources. Speaking of natural resources, she addressed the importance of managing and processing continually the resources. Another potential Indonesia has is the vast and large fields stretched throughout the country, which in turn may be a guarantee for the nation's food supply. Of human resources, there must be more and more creativity grown by devising better education methods for young generation. We need more creative people to become a better nation.
Meanwhile, besides the natural resources, Silmy Karim (HIMPI chairperson) highlighted the vital role of independence, meaning that Indonesian domestic products should be loved firstly by its local consumers. As he pointed out, there are a lot of Indonesian products imported and branded as the other countries' products. This shows the quality of Indonesian products is not as bad as we think. Karim also explained the huge number of population can be an advantage.
Another sight was provided by M. S. Hidayat, the chief of KADIN (Kamar Dagang Indonesia-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce). By the point of view of entrepreneurs he tried to represent, he abrasively stated how dumb this nation is. By exporting raw materials, we are letting the other nations enjoy the added value that we were supposed to be taking. Hidayat said raw materials export must be banned to stop this recurring tremendous loss of profits.
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