The President-Elect’s Maritime Vision
The President-Elect’s Maritime Vision
Shortly after being declared the winner of the 2014 Presidential Election by the General Election Commission, Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla delivered a victory speech on a pinisi at Sunda Kelapa Harbor. The ship is called Hati Buana Setia. It is said to be an expression of heart (determination) which has fundamental reasons for building identity as a maritime country.
This celebration is not only unique, but also creates hope and raises the question: how far will Jokowi-JK be able to develop a maritime country in the next five years?
The characteristics of a maritime country include having the ability to manage the sea as a source of national prosperity and as the axis of world trade. Indonesia can become the world’s maritime axis. However, so far the issue of maritime countries has always been discussed as mere jargon in every campaign and seminar, without any strategy for actualizing strategic policies. Then there is no news when implementation momentum is met because there is no maritime imagination from the perspective of our national leadership. Maritime should not only be interpreted as the geographical spectrum of an island nation, but also the identity of a nation with a dynamic maritime culture, which can build its nation on its own two feet based on the endowment of its resources.
If Jokowi-JK’s determination to make Indonesia the world’s maritime axis can be implemented in reality, this will mean a strategic breakthrough in national development. It can also be interpreted as reviving the fading maritime culture mentality in Indonesian society.
So far, the maritime economy has not been developed optimally and the vulnerability of Indonesia’s maritime areas to various criminal acts and violations of sovereignty cannot be separated from the fact that maritime development has not been made mainstream in national development. This is as a result of our maritime culture being eroded by continental-agrarian culture. Therefore, the new national leadership (DPR, DPD, and president, the results of the 2014 Legislative and Presidential Elections) must have strong political encouragement to change the development orientation from land base oriented to archipelagic base oriented.
Jokowi-JK should have a clear maritime policy, be forward-looking and have a global perspective. Comparative advantages as an archipelagic country must be built and utilized in accordance with the competencies and superior products in each region and national interests. This is a big challenge because implementation to make it happen is not just based on the determination of an elected president, but must also be supported by the political will of the DPR/DPD, governors and regents. The problem is not just about building ports, shipping industries, or increasing the physical fishing ability of fishermen, but also concerns regulations and legislation that have so far overlapped, sectoral egos, and concerns the chain of economic growth from land, coast, to sea. high seas.
Challenges ahead
The adage that Indonesia is the world’s maritime axis must be interpreted as Jokowi-JK’s determination to complete their national identity as residents of an archipelagic country to move away from the continental-agrarian paradigm towards a maritime paradigm that is rational and has a global perspective for the welfare of the people. Maritime-oriented development efforts actually began with Bung Karno with the 1957 Djoeanda Declaration and the emergence of the Archipelago Concept.
Then, in the Soeharto era, Indonesia gained international recognition of the 1982 Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 82). The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid continued with a commitment to maritime development with the establishment of the Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the development of the Indonesian Maritime Council. All of this shows a fundamental picture of maritime-oriented development, but has not provided significant results for people’s welfare.
In fact, in the current Reformation era, in the National Long Term Development Plan 2005-2025, the government has made a policy to make Indonesia an archipelagic country that is independent, advanced, strong and based on national interests. This includes reinforcing maritime culture in the 2009-2014 National Medium Term Development Plan. One of its implementation achievements is the implementation of the cabotage principle which has had a significant impact on the national shipping system. However, in regional perceptions and maritime culture, there is still a growing confusion of identity because what emerges later is an agrarian nation.
Society’s paradigm regarding the sea tends to be different from reality so that the direction of development policy tends to be as if maritime is a peripheral sector. The presence of the Sunda Strait Bridge project, for example, reflects that mainland reasoning is still strong. Mentioning Indonesia as a maritime country in national economic development policies is bland. Historian AB Lapian in his research, Sea People, Pirates, Sea Kings (2009),
states that Indonesia is united by the sea, not separated by the sea. The sea is a bridge and highway (toll) that unites more than 17,800 regions and islands in this country. In this way, the maritime cultural mentality becomes the complete identity of Indonesian people, who are one with the sea, not reduced to land-based reasoning.
It must be admitted that Jokowi-JK’s idea of creating equal distribution and growth in development by creating a “sea highway” is a smart idea because, in this way, the economic gap in eastern Indonesia and western Indonesia can be reduced. However, whether the idea will be as easy to implement is a big challenge. It requires political commitment and effective coordination of all stakeholders. For example, improving fishermen’s welfare certainly involves integration between skills education, technology, finance and industry.
Likewise, the transportation of large ships that supply trade commodities from the west to the east or vice versa must of course be balanced with adequate port infrastructure and conducive shipping industry productivity. Logistics rates will be cheap if the goods transported from/to each node have balanced commodity and industrial product yields. Likewise in the shipping industry, the government must be able to create productivity by providing efficient tax regulations and capital from banks at low interest rates.
Currently bank interest is 12 percent, compared with Singapore which provides 4 percent interest, Malaysia 5 percent, or China which only provides 1 percent. These countries are not island countries, but are now strong trade centers because of the conducive maritime industry business climate. The contribution of the maritime sector to a number of countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China, reaches 48 percent of their national GDP.
Coordinating body
Jokowi-JK’s determination, if accompanied by strong political will, will certainly produce real results. The dream of realizing Indonesia as the world’s maritime axis should be based on a strong foundation in the form of Maritime Policy as a big umbrella that covers all stakeholders.
This is really needed, built on an institutional approach that has authority not only in regional aspects, but also in the fields of politics, economics, security and international relations as well as other institutional legal aspects. This means that a policy is not just black and white as a design without political commitment, in the form of a law for example, so that its implementation is integrated to prevent sectoral egos. Thus, a Maritime Coordinating Body is needed that can carry out multi-sector programs effectively or by establishing a Maritime Coordinating Ministry.
It requires strong leadership determination, like Gus Dur, for example, who dared to make a breakthrough with a systemic impact by forming the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. However, that wasn’t enough. It’s not easy. The problem is, a campaign promise of the elected president is not only sweet to say, but can also have the impact of denying democracy. However, with the imperative power of Jokowi-JK’s leadership, it is believed that it can bring about significant changes in maritime development.
The concept of a world maritime axis must be supported by hard work and ensure that all programs are grounded and can be realized. Mental awareness as an island nation needs to be revived. New branding needs to be created to continue to remind the public that Indonesia is a maritime country. The new branding is a maritime-oriented political commitment of the national leadership. Hopefully the president-elect can make it happen.
