15/05/2015 Uncategorized
Drs. Andrinof Achir Chaniago, M.Si. The 11th Minister of National Development Planning Republic of Indonesia Head of National Development Planning Agency
In order to explain the definition of Sustainable Development, it is required to understand the integrated system as a whole. Commonly, in explaining the sustainable development, we are directed to focus on ecological, environment, and ecosystem elements. However, based on the empirical experience of Indonesia or by using other countries that are considered comparable, there are other components that need special concern. Besides ecological, environment, and ecosystem components, the economic pillars and social development also are important to understand the definition of sustainable development, including the roles in education. This was delivered by the 11th Minister of National Development Planning who is also the Head of National Development Planning Agency Republic of Indonesia, Drs. Andrinof Achir Chaniago, M.Si, in an open lecture on the second day of National Seminar Science, Engineering, and Technology UPH, 7 May 2015, at building D 502 UPH.
Andrinof explicated the reason why the economic element has important value in order to maximize the sustainable development. Indonesia had had suffered the low-quality economy which was an economic crisis in 1997-1998. An economic growth does not run smoothly due to bad management. The economy rapidly rose in eight years, the progress is inevitable from year to year. However, due to the bad management and obsolete system which was not based on science and technology, quality of human resources, Indonesia is easily shaken by global crisis, financial crisis, monetary crisis, political crisis, etc.
According to Adrinof, a state that aspires to have a sustainable development must apply a high quality economic system. It means that the economy system is moved and based on the science and technology. This is important to generate high rate of economy so the sustainable development could be implemented.
Other important component is the social development. A state that has socially cohesive citizens generally could generate a sustainable economic growth and welfare. On the other hand, the fragile states that is prone to conflict, have disintegration potencies because the big gap of socio-economic, race, and very low trust among groups, usually have unstable development which affects a state to be knocked-out with fluctuation and does not generate welfare for the citizens.
?Indonesia is in process. We are not totally lagged behind but we are quite there,? said Andrinof. He said, Indonesia at the beginning of 70s, has an equal position with other countries which now are in higher level than Indonesia. Based on the graph movement for 40 years, there are lots of countries that step faster than Indonesia, even countries that were formerly under Indonesia, they slowly go beyond even way higher than Indonesia.
Andrinof A. Chaniago stated that the sustainable development can be actualized if productivity of a nation keeps increasing. Productivity comes from science and technology, from managing the low-value resources to the high-value ones, and from engineering of a function to more functions. The science and technology could increase productivity. If science and technology are juxtaposed with cultures, philosophies, and religions, they will have different purposes. Productivity and civilization, they will indeed bring sustainable development.
Establishment of 100 Science and Technology Park As the agenda of national development, Andrinof communicated a development program of 100 Science and Technology Park in several regions in Indonesia as the 5-year program. The mission is to make human on every level get the education of science and technology and participate to create a sustainable development. In addition, it is hoped that Science and Technology Park could elevate the economic quality of the people. This is where the citizens who only plant, pick, and sell to plant, pick, manage, and package attractively and market it with more sophisticatedly. To realize that, he also emphasized on the necessity of integration from all parties especially the experts, professional engineers, and higher institutions.
?Indonesia is still very rich in high-value natural resources. But the utilization is still very low and some of them are used by external parties who know about the values of that material,? said Andrinof. He said that Indonesia must be smarter in managing the raw materials to become a high-value products. He quotes President Jokowi who said, ?We must stop selling raw materials? and keep the natural resources to not be exploited by external parties that do not give maximum welfare for the citizens.
Role of Research in Building High Economic Quality ?To create a high quality product, it requires an increase of interaction intensity between civitas academica and pracititioner. Some ideas come from textbooks and lecturers? explanation, but others come from phenomena happened from surroundings. Through this, the development of science and technology will take place and generate a high quality economy. So what is needed to do is the educational institutions must improve the activity of research and development and the optimization of government role to support it, to be the motor and katalysator for the production unit, industry and economic growth region,? explained Andrinof. If the nation wants to be strong and catch up, the research activites must be well develop to be brought to the applicable activities which generate products.
Becoming a producer and not to be other countries? consumers; that was what Andrinof emphasized as the primary efforts to implement a sustainable development. Consuming from another country, especially distant countries, one day there will be scarcity in certain areas that will cause high inflation with multiplier effects for country with increasing population each year for approximately 3 million people. On contrary, Andrinof believed that the citizens, actors of modest economy in Indonesia, are brought to be the economy actors who have value added for the products, provide the needs with affordable prices sustainably, so Indonesia will be a country with high economy quality. Andrinof stated that the 100 Science and Technology Park program will not happen if higher institutions do not want to cooperate. Several conditions for a city to build the Science and Technology Park are they must engage with the higher institutions. Lastly, Andrinof concluded that to implement a sustainable development, a country must have careful attention on the traditional components, such as ecology, environment and ecosystem, and the most importantly is the high economic quality, social development, and the role of education.
This national seminar was attended by approximately 200 participants, who were researcher from 26 universities from all around Indonesia. Several questions were proposed by the participants regarding the research fund and the role of central government towards the regional government in order to implement the sustainable development. Both questions were answered sophisticatedly by Andrinof A. Chaniago. The issue of research fund, in fact, Indonesia is still relatively very low in providing the research funds, but Andrinof also affirmed that the utilization of it is still not well-managed so it is necessary to have useful and significantly impactful for sustainable development. Meanwhile, the central government has distributed help as much as possible to the regional governments so the activities in the regions can be improved. But sometimes, there are several regions that do not have science and technological literacy so the suppots could not be used optimally by the regions.(fc)
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