amid widespread problems of human rights, poverty and endemic corruption faced by Indonesians as evidenced by daily news reports, hope emerged as President Joko Widodo took office in 2014. Its popular appeal form a clean government and came from a poor family was therefore many Indonesians feel optimistic for a better future. Its objectives and promises that are not novel, came as more authentic and appeared to be realistic in their realization.
One of his most ambitious goals is to make Indonesia a maritime Axis. After all, Indonesia is made up of over 13,000 islands, making it the largest archipelagic state, passing through four oceans and possessing the second longest coastline in the world.
"We must strive to re-establish Indonesia as a maritime country. The oceans, straits and bays are our future. We were turning our backs on them for too long," said the President in his inaugural speech.
Indonesia has indeed turned its back on its oceans for too long; our naval capabilities are reported to be lower than those of our neighboring countries like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. And while the happy geographical location of Indonesia should mean that it rains money, millions of Indonesians working in the fishing industry are stuck in poverty.
Dated infrastructure and resources have made the country unable to compete, to some extent, resulting in widespread illegal fishing, piracy, and even people smuggling; Indonesia loses millions of tonnes of fish worth about US $ 20 million on an annual basis.
rub salt in the wounds, Indonesia still has to import fish from neighboring countries since the poor infrastructure has led to the transport of goods within the nation is too expensive.
Jokowi told Susi Pudjiastuti - a controversial choice for many - as the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to solve deep-seated problems and ultimately transform Indonesia into a king of the sea. Shortly after taking office, news of his orders to blow up the illegal fishing vessels from neighboring countries has become global. A moving company still divisions, the reasoning behind this is that these actions will have a deterrent effect.
She then held meetings with Ambassadors of neighboring countries, namely Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and China, asking them to join in its efforts to fight against illegal fishing. She had conversations with Indonesian middlemen, who lead the way in the illegal documents, putting in place regulations - a moratorium on fishing vessels built abroad and the prohibition of transhipment -. To eradicate more (INN) Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Pudjiastuti also leads the way for the blue conservation to empower fishermen and growth of the economy. More than 2.6 million fishermen and 140 million Indonesians depend on marine and coastal ecosystems for their livelihoods, but according to the World Bank, nearly 65 percent of coral reefs in Indonesia are threatened due to overfishing . Many fish are caught before they are ripe; a practice, if continued, will lead to the depletion of fish species in our oceans.
The results of his actions are reflected in a growing peaches in the 4th quarter of 2015 and the testimony of fishermen about the increasing size and production of their catch. Now we can watch small boats to catch large tuna, an invisible show for many years.
So, are we about to reach unrealistic goals of the president? The finish line is still thousands of miles, apparently.
For someone who has spent his life in Indonesia, or even just a day, it is easy to see how our infrastructure is lacking, causing many to lose a large amount of time on the road instead of to work.
As reported by The Economist , it took about 6.4 days in May last year for containers to unload and leave Tanjung Priok, the busiest port and most advanced in Indonesia.
Jokowi said that now with an improved system, they may enter in four days; good news, of course. But Singapore can do it four times faster, as reported by the World Bank. And we must not forget how the trucks have to bear the worst traffic jams in the world once they reach Jakarta.
In addition, the small fishers who provide most of Indonesia's marine products are under-equipped and having to make frequent short trips because of the lack of freezers, of having to sell their catches quickly before it's spoiled.
Indonesia is blessed with abundant natural resources and should be a prosperous country and a major player in the world. Our dear President seems to be on a turbo mode to increase its speed. And who knows, we might actually have King Triton under our rule and bathe in money one day.
Beyond that, and more importantly, our confidence in our government can be restored, and foreign investors may finally start to see this country as a hidden gem, which has been buried for too long time. It is nice to feel hopeful and to finally have the rights bragging about our government.