TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsPrabowo pledges to act on reform proposals from academics, researchers
The conciliatory remarks contrasted with President Prabowo Subianto's comments earlier this week, when he took aim at what he described as "intellectuals" of questioning the urgency of his signature free nutritious meal program.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Prabowo Subianto (left) receives and signs a proposal submitted by academics on Sunday during the closing ceremony of the Indonesian Science, Technology and Industry Convention (KSTI) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(Courtesy of/BPMI Setpres)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto said he wants to engage more closely with the country's academics and pledged to review their proposals for improvement, marking a softer tone after previously brushing aside "intellectuals" for questioning his flagship programs.
"I received a long list of proposals and questions today. I promise to review them one by one," Prabowo said in his closing remarks at the Indonesian Science, Technology and Industry Convention (KSTI) in Jakarta on Sunday, attended by about 2,600 rectors, lecturers, researchers and scientists.
Arguing that the world's most successful organizations and countries are those that openly acknowledge and address their shortcomings, the President pledged to follow up on the reform proposals put forward at the event.
"If necessary, we should meet every month. I need to meet smart people," he said, adding that universities should contribute ideas and innovation to support the country's long-term development.
Read also: Prabowo shrugs off criticism for key policies
Reform proposals from academics include expanding doctoral scholarships for lecturers, increasing research funding and directing a share of state-owned enterprises' (SOEs) profits to research and innovation.
Responding to suggestions on strengthening support from SOEs, Prabowo said such efforts would depend on the firms becoming financially stronger. In that regard, he said he had instructed state asset fund Danantara, the holding company for those SOEs, to complete a restructuring that would reduce their number from more than 1,000 to around 250 within two years in an effort to improve efficiency.
