The State of the Nation Speech

Every year on 16 August, a President of Indonesia delivers a state of the nation speech before a joint meeting of the parliament i.e. the House of Representatives and the Regional Representative Council.

Today, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) delivered a speech that covers various aspects in the country, such as Politics, Economy, Corruption, Terrorist, Inter-Faith relationship, etc.

There are two aspects that I would like to write here, first about Inter-Faith relationship, whereby SBY calls the Indonesian people to exercise the "true philosophy of harmonious living in a pluralistic society", and calls for religious tolerance.

SBY's statement is related to the frequent attacks by certain Moslem radical/fanatics on the activities of Christian minorities, the latest one being the attack on Christian Church in Bekasi, West Java.

Very disapointed with the way the government and law enforcement agencies handle these attacks, whereby attackers were seldom punnished, last Sunday around 1,400 Christians have protested by holding their prayer in front of the SBY official residence at the Merdeka Palace.

On the economic side, SBY said that he is optimistic that Indonesia's annual Gross Domestic Product would grow 7.7% by 2014 (currently 5-6%), this he said would create new jobs for 10.7 million people and slash poverty by 8 to 10%.

The figures mentioned are very good compared to complaints I have heard from my friends, and other people that have been reported by TVs, newspapers, radios, about the crazy price hikes of Pepper, Eggs, Chicken, Meat and so many other commodities, that have been going on for some time. Whereas the cheap things sold in the markets are mostly imported items starting from vegetables, fruits, toys, garments, etc. etc.
And then there were labour unrests, high unemployment rates, so many beggars/tramp that can be clearly seen on many corners of Jakarta and vicinity, very high crime rates, etc. etc. etc.

One thing that I am very disapointed was that SBY seems to forget about the frequent explosion of LPG Canisters that have killed and injured so many innocent people, and solution for the never ending Lapindo Mud Flow tragedy in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Nevertheless, I hope that SBY would be more firm, decisive and confident in leading his government so that all the things that he has promised during the presidential election campaigns can be fulfilled.

For details, please read the following articles :
-  SBY Calls for Religious Tolerance
-  SBY's Target to Slash Unemployment
-  Religious Minorities in Indonesia Push back 

Photo :  Courtesy of Kompas.