Election Indonesia: Last Debate Subianto-Rajasa vs Jokowi-Kalla
On Saturday 5 July 2014, the fifth presidential debate between the two presidential pairs took place. Candidates Prabowo Subianto (joined by running mate Hatta Rajasa) and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (joined by running mate Jusuf Kalla) faced off in the last debate. The theme of this debate was 'energy, food security and environment'. Sudharto P. Hadi, Professor of Sociology at the Diponegoro University in Semarang (Central Java) was the moderator. On Wednesday 9 July 2014, the Indonesian people will go to the ballot boxes to elect their next leader.
What were the main points of both presidential pairs?
Summary of the fifth Presidential Debate:
Topics | Prabowo Subianto - Hatta Rajasa | Joko Widodo - Jusuf Kalla |
Food resilience | • Food is a basic need and human right. The government must ensure availability of affordable food in good quality and quantity | • Implementation of ‘people’s agribusiness’, meaning that the government gives proper guidance to Indonesian farmers to make the country self-sufficient. Key to success lies in the willingness to solve the self-sufficiency problem (“mental revolution”). Government should create a good supply and demand system for the farmers |
Energy sovereignty | • Improve oil & gas production and reduce oil & gas imports • Develop renewable energy • Push for renegotiations of contracts with foreign companies in mining to improve state-income • Improve proven reserve and develop the old oil wells |
• Improve production of energy sources such as gas, oil and geothermal energy • Continue to convert oil into gas • Develop infrastructure for gas distribution • Pertamina needs to open a market for biofuels • Reduce energy consumption by improving mass transportation in the bigger cities across Indonesia |
Food imports | • Reduce the huge volume of food imports • Improve productivity by developing quality seeds, fertilizers, good irrigation & infrastructure |
|
Environment | • Environmental damage is partly because of the large population (with five million newborns every year). Indonesia needs to develop environmental awareness • Sustainable development is a priority |
• Find a balance between economic development, people’s welfare and environmental conservation. These need to be developed simultaneously • People must be given incentives to encourage their participation in conservation |
Meat prices | • Food-price volatility during Ramadan, especially the price of meat, are a national concern • Indonesia produces lots of cattle, but transporting cattle from West Nusa Tenggara to Jakarta is more expensive than importing cattle from Australia due to high logistics costs |
|
Kleptocracy | • Let the law enforcers deal with vote-buying practices. As a nation, Indonesia have weaknesses. If a government signs a contract that disadvantages the Indonesian people, then self-contemplation is needed | |
Farmland | • Indonesia needs additional farmland with sufficient irrigation |
–