JAKARTA-- The government, in the third year of the Working Cabinet, will be more focused on equitable economic distribution for Indonesians across the country, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said.

"I am convinced that only through economic equality will we become more united," President Jokowi remarked in his speech during the Peoples Consultative Assembly annual session in 2017 here Wednesday.

The president asserted that the government wants the Indonesian people living in the suburbs, border areas, forefront islands, and isolated areas to be able to witness the fruits of development and feel a sense of pride on being a citizen of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

He noted that social justice should be able to manifest itself in the lives of all people of Indonesia.

"People in Aceh should be able to witness the services of education, health, sanitation, clean water, transportation, as well as sense the feelings of other brothers in all corners of the country. We also want the people living in the border of Papua to be proud of their homeland, as the border areas are the forefront of the Republic," the president noted.

President Jokowi also highlighted the governments keenness to ensure that the Papuan people residing in the mountains are able to avail the same price of fuel and staple items as their counterparts in other parts of Indonesia.

Moreover, he said, the government is also committed to ensuring that the people of Miangas Island are able to avail programs, such as the Healthy Indonesia Cards and Smart Indonesia Cards, and the residents of Rote Island are able to benefit from infrastructure development, smooth connectivity, and reduced logistics costs.

"Fair development will make us stronger in the face of global competition. No one will feel like second-class or third-class citizens, as all of them are citizens of the Republic of Indonesia and are equals to benefit from development," he explained.

The president said the government is also keen to cooperate not only to ensure equitable economic equality but also for ideological, political, social, and cultural development.

President Jokowi has also invited the community to continue to strengthen the national consensus to maintain Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, NKRI, and Bhineka Tunggal Ika, or Unity in Diversity.


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