SBY Calls for Unity in Time of Adversity

The Jakarta Globe, Sally Piri 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday called on all Indonesians to unite and support each other in this time of adversity. 

“I hope all Indonesians take part in improving our social solidarity in facing the current development of conditions in our country and those in the world,” Yudhoyono said at a ceremony to mark National Solidarity Day. 

He said that all contributions, no matter how small, were valuable. 

He reminded his audience that Indonesia was not immune to the global recession. 

“We all know that all nations in the world are feeling the impact of the current food crisis, the oil energy crisis, the financial crisis and the recession of the world economy,” he said. 

Everyone should work to support government programs to improve the welfare of all Indonesians, especially for the poor and the needy, he said. 

“Let us carry out the government’s programs to enhance the prosperity of the people,” he said. 

The central government’s cash and rice aid programs across Indonesia have continually been hampered by bureaucracy, corruption and even security concerns, as people are often injured and sometimes killed in the stampedes that frequently accompany the distribution of aid to the poor. He said that besides providing direct help to the poor in the form of cash and essentials, the government was providing other forms of indirect help. 

“Let’s be more tolerant. We should give and take, share and care,” Yudhoyono said. 

Yudhoyono also reminded Indonesians that the country was prone to natural disasters, urging everyone to be prepared for such events. 

Indonesia sits on the convergence of several continental plates and is therefore prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. The degradation of the environment in the past few decades has also begun to cause widespread flooding and landslides in the rainy season. 

“God blessed us with rich natural resources, but he also made our country prone to disasters, like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods and landslides,” he said. “Our best attitude is to always be on the ready in case these disasters come.” 

In a separate event, municipal authorities in West Jakarta held a mass wedding for the poor to mark National Solidarity Day. A total of 727 couples were married at the municipal office, Detik.com reported.