Is Everyone’s Responsibility

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

People walk past a billboard and red-and-white paraphernalia for the 74th anniversary of Independence Day on Jalan Merdeka Barat, Jakarta, on Aug. 4 (4/8/2019). The 74th Independence Day commemoration focused on human resources.

Human resource development (HRD) will be the government’s focus for the next five years. New hope was raised in marking the 74th anniversary of Indonesian Independence. In his state address on 16 Aug. at a joint session of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People\'s Consultative Assembly (MPR), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo heavily emphasized the importance of HRD.

Kompas noted that the President mentioned “HRD” 14 times in his speech – more than any other word – followed by science (11 times) and technology (eight times). In contrast to the 2018 speech, the most frequently used words were economy (24), development (20), and infrastructure (11).

Our founding fathers Soekarno (Bung Karno) and Mohammad Hatta always acknowledged the importance of HRD. For some reason, however, it received less attention and was often marginalized in implementing the development policy.

Bung Karno often mentioned the importance of the mental revolution for the Indonesian people in his speeches. In his Independence Day speech on 17 Aug. 1957, the “proclamator” called on the Indonesian people to form a nation of warriors who were confident, sovereign and independent.

In his “Future of the Indonesian Economy” speech on 3 Feb. 1946 in Yogyakarta, Hatta emphasized the importance of the people’s character, skills and ideals in addition to the nation’s wealth and its position in the international community.

As a nation, we also need to learn from other nations. South Korea, which became independent on 15 Aug. 1945, just two days earlier than Indonesia, is today an advanced nation. Korea, which General MacArthur once called feudal, corrupt and lazy, has become a highly productive, disciplined and hard-working nation.

Tony Wagner, a resident expert at Harvard University’s Innovation Lab, also stressed that improving the quality of human resources was vital to facing the 21st century. He has developed a list of seven survival skills (www.tonywagner.com/7-survival-skills): critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration across networks and leading by influence, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurship, effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, and curiosity and imagination.

President Joko Widodo summarized these skills in his Independence Day speech. Jokowi interprets “superior human resources” to mean people who possess an Indonesian heart, the Pancasila ideology, tolerance, noble character and a willingness to learn, and are hardworking and dedicated. We are all encouraged to leave the old ways behind and adapt new ways.

We hope President Jokowi, as the head of state, remains at the forefront and continues to remind us of the importance of developing our human resources. The substance of the President\'s state address should also be of concern at all levels of the bureaucracy, across the central, provincial and regency/municipal governments, the legislative, the judiciary and quasi-state institutions, as well as throughout civil society. Much work remains to be done in developing our human resources. All must take steps to face the super-rapid changes of the 21st century.