EditorialWidodo deserving of support for his plans to move nation ahead

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has a promising strategy to move his country forward in challenging times. As he began his second and final term in office, he laid out plans to focus on building infrastructure, creating jobs, improving education standards and cutting bureaucratic red tape.

His goal is to make the nation one of the world’s five biggest economies when it celebrates its century in 2045. But while he has sound ideas and a strong mandate to rule, there are powerful vested interests to contend with and he needs courage to overcome the pressures.

His cabinet reveals the governing coalition’s complexities and challenges. Of the 34 ministers, half are politicians, five are retired military officers, one is a serving police general and several are linked to ongoing corruption probes. Then there is the growing influence of conservative Islam, visibly represented in his administration through vice-president Ma’ruf Amin, an Islamic cleric.

Violence marked Widodo’s re-election in April, with rival Prabowo Subianto – surprisingly appointed defence minister – refusing to concede defeat and his supporters taking to the streets despite a double-digit margin.

Tens of thousands of students protested earlier this month in an effort to halt the introduction of controversial laws that curtail individual freedoms, make insulting state institutions, including the presidency, a crime, and weaken the powers of the anti-corruption watchdog. Muslim extremism has also re-emerged as a threat; security minister Wiranto was seriously injured when stabbed by a supporter of the Islamic State militant group.