fSri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, reminded the government on Thursday not to underestimate the current global economic crisis.
His rationale was based on the fact that, as in the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s, the hardest hit countries will be those with lax regulations.
"Instead of disregarding it, we should have become paranoid because of that," Sri Sultan said at a seminar titled the "National Way Out from the Crisis" in Cirebon on Thursday.
Noted businessman Ciputra, marketing expert Hermawan Kartajaya and politician Enggartiasto Lukito also spoke at the seminar.
Ciputra disclosed that, in order to prevent being seriously affected, there must be an entrepreneurial spirit among the nation's working class community.
"It will be the entrepreneurial spirit which will free Indonesia from the crisis. Such a spirit will be able to help Indonesia settle problems of poverty and joblessness," he said.
Sri Sultan said that the current crisis must be used as an opportunity for Indonesia to review its national economic and political strategy by prioritizing a working agenda and putting an emphasis on self-reliance and the nation's dignity.
"The 2009 election can be used to gain momentum to get out of the crisis," he said.
According to him there are many reasons why Indonesia should be optimistic about its position in the crisis, including its abundant natural resources.
"Indonesia has over 17,000 islands which are rich in mineral resources. It has incredible marine resources and also vast forested lands. All of them should have enabled the country to stand side by side with other nations," he said.
Sri Sultan also underlined the need for the government to make tough policies, free from foreign intervention, to prevent the country from sinking in the crisis.
The government, he said, has also made a drastic reorientation of its development on domestic strength. "The government should be willing to protect its domestic products, reduce dependence on imports, especially agricultural, plantation and marine products," he said.
"Instead, we should be self-reliant and be able to become a major exporter of such products," he added.
Meanwhile, Ciputra said that, in order to create creative entrepreneurs, the Indonesian education model should be renewed.
He criticized the national education model, which emphases memorization of facts. "Education should teach creativity. From there entrepreneurship spirit will arise...entrepreneurs who are ready to compete and create job opportunities to get rid of poverty and improve welfare," he said.
Ciputra said that a country is wealthy when it has entrepreneurs amounting up to 2 percent of its total population. Compared to Singapore, Indonesian entrepreneurialism has been left far behind.
"In 2007 alone, Indonesia had only 400,000 entrepreneurs, while ideally it should have reached 4.4 million," he said.
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