TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) Director Enny Sri Hartati argues that the most crucial problem currently faced by Indonesia and in the coming years is related to economic issues. Furthermore, Enny hopes that a leader that fundamentally understands economic problems would be elected in the upcoming Presidential Election in 2019.

“The person doesn’t have to come from an economic background, but someone that can recognize the problem,” said Enny at a discussion forum at Hotel Mercure on Wednesday, March 28.

According to Enny, professionals from economic backgrounds would face difficulties in running for the presidential and vice presidential candidate since they would be held hostage by the presidential threshold requirement. Enny pins her hopes that the elected leader would form a strong cabinet, especially in the field of economy.

“This economic team should not come from a political background, but a true professional,” Enny explained.

She then evaluated the performance of the current government under the leadership of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) which she finds is performing well politically and in the defense sector. However, the same cannot be said to the economic issues.

“The cabinet’s economic team is indeed weak,” she said.

According to several polls, Enny said that Jokowi’s electability ranked pretty high based on his populist policies and modesty but earned a low rating in problem-solving.

One of the economic problems under Jokowi administration she highlighted is regarding foreign debts that are dominated by securities which must be looked out for. Indonesia’s debt up to February reached Rp4,035 trillion, which is a 13.46 percent increase compared to the previous year.

M YUSUF MANURUNG | DEWI NURITA