Transformation Needs Clean Leader

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (fourth right) swears in members of the PDI-P Central Executive Board (DPP) for the 2019-2024 term on Saturday (10/8/2019), during the closing event of the fifth PDI-P Congress at the Grand Inna Bali Beach Hotel in Denpasar, Bali.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Indonesia faces difficult challenges in transforming into an advanced country when it turns 100 in 2045. A clean leader who is free of corruption and is committed to developing scientific and technological innovations is needed to improve Indonesia\'s competitiveness.

Advancing Indonesia depends on meeting the contextual requirements of digital disruption, which demands persistence and high adaptability to change.

Political research professor Lili Romli of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) pointed out on Tuesday (13/8/2019) in Jakarta that a leader who is free of corruption was vital to achieving the Indonesia Vision 2045. A country that is ravaged by corruption will be incapable of progress.

The results of the Kompas R&D survey on the vision of a developed Indonesia at 100 years, which was conducted on 7-8 Aug. 2019 and involved 525 respondents in 17 major cities in Indonesia, show that 31.8 percent of respondents believed that the primary requirement was a clean leader, followed by economic equality (19.6 percent) and education to advance science and technology (17.1 percent).

Opportunities for achieving the vision of an advanced country can be seen in Indonesia\'s improving indexes. Indonesia’s ranking rose from 47th to 45th on the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which assesses 100 countries.

Indonesia was one rank above Mexico in 46th, and also ranked higher than the Philippines (56), India (58) and Brazil (72). However, Indonesia still lags behind Malaysia (25) and Thailand (38) in competitiveness.

The GCI indicates that Indonesia has promising opportunities in terms of macroeconomic stability. However, it still needs more preparation towards information and communications technology (ICT), capacity for innovation and a competitive labor market.

In relation to this, Lili said that mastering technology must be the primary focus to become an advanced country. However, the solution should not necessarily be to import foreign teachers. The government must be able to "attract" successful Indonesians from abroad to help improve the quality of human resources.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Many empty chairs are seen on Thursday (25/7/2019) during the House of Representatives (DPR) plenary session at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta.

Digital challenges

Microsoft Indonesia national technology officer Tony Seno Hartono said leaders must be aware of the challenges facing Indonesia in the digital transformation era.

"Don\'t allow laws and regulations to contradict Industry 4.0, which fully utilizes cloud computing technology. Now, the leader is the one who must own how to encourage the government to adopt cloud computing," said Tony.

Indonesia New Media Watch executive director Agus Sudibyo emphasized that all countries are integrated in the digital transformation era, so countries with technological advantages can absorb an economic surplus in another country.

"This needs special attention to prevent Indonesia from becoming only an object of digitalization, that is, a market for digital products that must then bear a large impact," he said. (SHR/AGE)