Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo delivers a speech at the APEC CEO Summit on Nov. 10. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images


The message Indonesian president Joko Widodo sent during his first international summit Monday morning was crystal clear: Now is the time to invest in Indonesia.

The way he presented it, however, received mixed reactions, with some observers praising his address, delivered in English, and others saying it felt amateurish and focused too much on domestic concerns.

“Basically, he was using a campaign speech for an international audience,” said Yohanes Sulaiman, a lecturer at Indonesian Defense University in Jakarta. “I mean, talking about cutting fuel subsidies for seeds for farmers?”

Mr. Widodo’s address to a crowd of business leaders on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing began a week of international summits where many investors and global leaders are eager to hear his views. Many are also watching to see how the former mayor known for his brevity and uncertain command of English presents himself as leader of the world’s fourth-most populous nation.

He gave observers a taste by spending the early part of his roughly 13-minute speech pledging to slash costly fuel subsidies that have strained Indonesia’s budget and will limit his ability to spend on promised social reforms and infrastructure development.

He later pointed to various infrastructure projects – sea ports, railways and mass transportation – as examples of the vast investment opportunities. Before closing, Mr. Widodo acknowledged problems that have worked against investors, such as difficulty acquiring land for project development.

Mr. Sulaiman said “unloading” the difficulties of doing business in Indonesia to an international audience was a bad move and distracted from the main message: promoting Indonesia.

Other analysts felt that it offered much-needed reassurance for people looking to a country that has consistently ranked near the bottom of ease of doing business surveys.

“The ability to resolve land issues in a timely manner would provide a clear indicator of the government’s increased capacity to complete infrastructure projects,” said Anton Alifandi, an analyst with consulting firm IHS.

Despite what some dubbed as a speech that lacked vision and carried the tone of an investment agency presentation, Mr. Widodo received hearty applause.

Charles Morrison, president of the non-profit East-West Center, even acknowledged Mr. Widodo’s Power Point slides, sending out a tweet referring to the president’s “excellent, simple English” and his noticeable lack of notes.




sumber biar ga pada protes /:mad/…indonesia real time panastak …jokowi dibilang bicara inggrisnya crystal cLear


[WOW ! Brrrrr !] Suhu 4 Derajat Jokowi Tetap Pakai Batik di Beijing…joKOwi stLonghhh


FULL Pidato RESMI Presiden JOKOWI DI Forum APEC CEO BEIJING - Berita Terbaru Hari Ini 10 November


DIgitaL red CarPet


fiX jokowi antek PKC berani naek mobil resmi PKC


mestinya kan naek ini…ngapain ikut2an



acAra hiburan utk para kepala negara---bagus gan kembang apinya EPIC banged…mesti nonton dah