TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Incumbent presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday, March 21, during his electoral campaign in Senayan, explained several requirements for a nation to escape the middle-income trap.

He elaborates that a country must be ready infrastructure-wise, must undergo real effort upon human resources development, and institutional structural reform or regulatory simplifications.

“If these three are not handled seriously, we will be stuck in the middle-income trap,” said Jokowi in front of a claimed 10,000 entrepreneurs declaring support for him in the 2019 presidential election.

Jokowi assures that he does not want Indonesia to be stagnant in this category as other countries have experienced and mentioned the government’s plan to shift its focus on developing its human resources following the ongoing infrastructure developments.

He explains that one of the ways is to introduce a subsidy card dubbed Kartu Indonesia Pintar or Indonesia smart card that will help sponsor Indonesians chasing higher education in universities. The current KIP only supports from primary school up to senior high.

Jokowi also revealed the government’s plan to introduce a pre-employment card that will be handed to high school, vocational high, and university graduates prior to entering the work industry. “The card’s incentive will also apply to those who were laid off,” said Jokowi.

ANTARA