Jakarta, IO – The national vision and mission, enshrined in the preamble of the 1945 Constitution, must be realized through planned and sustainable development based on realistic targets. This vision and mission is also the mandate of the people of the sovereign republic as stated in the State Policy Outlines (PPHN). Thus, they must be adhered to while serving as a constitutional guarantee for sustainable efforts to realize a prosperous society.
The national vision and mission as stated in the Constitution preamble remains in absolute force because it has not been amended. The essence is to maintain self-sufficiency, sovereignty of the people, unity; to realize prosperity and welfare for the people; and to participate in creating world order based on freedom, peace and social justice.
Everyone is fully aware that this cannot be done instantaneously; it requires hard work through a sustainable development process. A sustainable development must be based on future planning, because it calls for each generation to predict and anticipate changes in the future.
So, it is clear that it cannot be experimental or speculative but must be driven by constant adaptation to changing times, because the needs of the state and the people will always change in line with developments over time. Thus, the country’s vision and mission should take bold step into the near and distant future.
The most obvious example at the moment is the need to accelerate development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure. A little more than a decade or two ago, it might seem not as urgent. But now, it has become inevitable as a new era demands digitalization in numerous areas of daily life.
Also, because the development of cyber technology has brought various implications to national security, the need for a fourth force — the Cyber Force — has emerged. Massive cyberattacks and the potential of a cyber warfare have created awareness that the urgency for this new force is not a far-fetched idea.
By interpreting the essence of the Constitution preamble, each administration is obliged to realize this vision and mission from time to time. State development plans and programs prepared and proposed must be aligned with the stated vision and mission. Prosperity and welfare of the people can only be realized through sustainable development in various sectors.
The national vision and mission must always be adjusted in keeping with the times but without straying from the Constitution preamble. These adjustments were then outlined in the State Policy Outlines (PPHN) formulated by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the national legislature of Indonesia. This means that PPHN is a mandate of the people which contains the constitutional provisions or directives to implement sustainable development.
PPHN should be understood by state administration as a legal document based on popular sovereignty. This means that the mandate of the people, through their representatives in MPR — which comprises the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representative Council (DPD) — have the authority to design and determine the outlines of national development goals. This document is a reference for the president and state institutions in formulating various development programs in line with their respective authorities.
Every president may offer new ideas or concepts, but PPHN should remain the development blueprint because it is designed and agreed upon by all elements of the nation in MPR. In other words, it is derived from the sovereignty of the people and its content is inspired by the process of adapting to changing times and various challenges that comes with it.
All elements of the nation have been reminded of the numerous real challenges that have emerged in the new era. These must be responded to with projections, planning and focused, sustainable works. Of course, its relevance is closely linked to the determination to realize the Golden Indonesia Vision 2045, when Indonesia commemorates the centenary of its independence.
Amid unpredictable global challenges, the country must pay more attention to food security and self-sufficiency. This should be stipulated in PPHN because climate changes with all its adverse impacts can potentially undermine food security. Another equally important challenge is accelerating new and renewable energy (EBT) development to end the use of polluting fossil energy.
In the human resource development aspect, Indonesia must immediately produce large pool of digital talents who are urgently needed in all sectors, including in efforts to enhance digitalization across the country, especially in rural areas. This can only be realized if ICT infrastructure development is accelerated. The efforts to embrace new and renewable energy (EBT) and digitally-savvy human capital require consistency, which means that it should be set forth in PPHN.
Meanwhile, in the economic and industrial development front, Indonesia is pursuing economic transformation through downstream processing of natural resources. There have been many calculations which conclude that Indonesia’s natural resources are so rich and valuable because they are needed by the market and the international community, presently and in the future. This offers momentum for Indonesia to implement downstream processing.
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If downstream processing potential is implemented consistently, Indonesia’s economic transformation is bound to accelerate further. The country will no longer export raw materials, but will be driven by investment, industrialization and increased productivity as the basis of its economic strength. Downstream processing will spur industrial deepening and the development of various industrial sub-sectors in the economy. This will enable Indonesia to process a variety of natural resources into finished goods with high added value and competitiveness in the global market.
Therefore, this momentum must not be wasted or delayed any longer. Indonesia’s natural resource wealth is abundant. The country is rich in gold, copper, bauxite, nickel, tin, coal to palm oil, rubber, coconut, coffee, cocoa, tea and spices. What we need is the courage and will to manage it with wisdom for the greatest benefits of the Indonesian people, to improve their welfare and create a prosperous nation.
To maintain this consistency, the strategic agenda deserves to be embedded in PPHN. The need for PPHN is an inevitability because it is a constitutional guarantee for the implementation of sustainable development and economic transformation to realize the Golden Indonesia Vision 2045.