Jakarta, Feb 23 (Antara) - As a window and gate for outsiders, border
areas reflect a country's socio-economic, cultural and political
resilience which is why the Indonesian government has to focus its
development attention on its borders.
The problem existing in the Indonesian border areas concerns people's
prosperity and economic backwardness as a result of the lack of
transportation means, health facilities and low education.
"Border problem is not merely a problem of building a fence or a wall
but also a problem of improving matters in the yard (namely the welfare
condition of people inside the complex)," Anies Baswedan stated during a
debate in a Democratic Party (PD) presidential candidate convention
event in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Saturday.
Prosperity
problem in the border areas is a crucial thing for the government to
resolve. After all, many people who are crippled with poverty endured
hardships with the absence of public facilities. Improving people's
welfare will reduce infant and maternal mortality rates which are high
during labor.
"One of the reasons is the lack of
transportation facilities to the public healthcare centers," Anies, who
is one of the 11 participants of the ruling Democratic Party (PD)
presidential candidate convention, said.
Besides welfare problem, security is also a matter that the government
needs to pay attention to in the border areas. "State leaders' firm
attitude will have a good impact on the country's security," Anies, who
also rector of the Paramadina University, noted.
Yet, all
this must be built with all sectors, including the economy, to establish
a universal resilience for the nation in the border.
Therefore,
the government needs to develop new economic growth centers in border
areas to build economic and social resilience that will serve as a
strong fortress of the nation.
According to Hayono Isman who is
also a participant of the presidential convention, border areas could
not be guarded with personnel from the military only. The people's
defense must be strengthened with building their resilience through
socio-economic cultural development.
"It is not enough for
the border areas to be guarded with military personnel who so far have
done a wonderful job. A defense of people resilience also needs to be
built," Hayono Isman said.
For this purpose, the government
should create new economic development centers so that the people's
economy in the border areas will grow and health services will also
develop.
"Through the development of new economic growth
centers, the government will automatically create strong fortresses in
areas bordering other neighboring countries," Hayono, who is also a
former sports and youth affairs minister, said.
He said that
if he is elected president in the coming presidential race on July 9,
2014, he will resume the previous president's policy, namely President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has protected this nation from the
invasion of other country.
"I was proud of President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono during the conflict with Malaysia over the Ambalat
issue. He was standing on the deck of a warship which was only about 100
meters from the sea border with Malaysia. His body language suggested
that if that country invaded Ambalat, we are ready to wage a war. And I
will follow this attitude to protect any single span of Indonesia's
border areas," he stressed.
He reiterated the need for the
involvement of the people in guarding border areas with improving their
welfare through advancing economic, health and education development in
areas which shared borders with neighboring countries.
"We
need to guard border areas by building people's resilience as a strong
defense. And this could be done by creating new economic growth centers
there," Hayono Isman, who is also a senior cadre of the Democratic
Party, said.
Besides, infrastructure is another issue which
is also crucial for advancing economic development and improving the
prosperity of the local people in areas sharing border with other
countries.
"If I am elected president, I will increase
spending for the development of infrastructure. The infrastructure funds
to be set aside will account for about 3 to 4 percent of the national
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," Gita Wirjawan, who is also one of the 11
presidential convention participants, promised.
He explained
that the budget for infrastructural development now was still less than
one percent of the GDP. The former trade minister who recently resigned
for concentrating on the presidential race activities this year said
that he had three approaches in his development programs for advancing
areas bordering with other countries.
The three development approaches are prosperity approach, security approach and sustainable development approach.
He said that he will raise the defense budget which he said now was
still small. "I will increase defense budget to three percent of the GDP
from the present 0.8 percent," he added.
With regard to the improvement of the people's welfare, Gita said, if
elected president, he will intensify the development of infrastructures.
Adequate infrastructure, according to Gita, will determine the success
of the efforts to improve the welfare of people.
On his program to carry out sustainable development, Gita said he will
also focus on preserving the environment to protect the existence of
flora and fauna.
In the meantime, people in the border areas also need to nurture their
sense of nationalism. In this case, the other convention
participant, Pramono Edhie Wibowo, said he will build the spirit of
nationalism of people.
"The sense of nationalism must be
reinforced. We should not merely build fortress or walls, but also
nationalism. Yet developing nationalism should not cause other sectors
to remain untouched. Border areas should not lag behind other areas
in the country,"Pramono Edhie Wibowwo said.
He said that if
elected president he would build border areas in accordance with the
required conditions. The development should involve investors but should
not forget native investors.
"Other investors can be invited
but we should not forget the local ones. They should be involved in
development in building their spirit and in improving their welfare.
They should not be deprived of their own natural resources," Pramono
Edhie assured.***2***
(T.A014/S012)
(T.A014/A/A. Abdussalam/Suharto) 23-02-2014 13:45 |
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