Learning from the Lean and Agile Singapore

We have heard a lot about Indonesia’s natural resource and human resource potential. By 2045, Indonesia is predicted to be the next economic powerhouse in the world along with other ‘giants’. At its 100^th anniversary, Indonesia may become the 4^th or 5^th largest economy in the world.

Towards the golden era of Indonesia, Y.M. Ngurah Swajaya (Ambassador of Indonesia to Singapore) convinced us that this forecast can manifest if only Indonesians can take advantage of their demographic bonus. There is no better timing that to start from now. “But all this cannot be achieved without our hardwork,” Swajaya told the audience of the general lecture titled “Bilateral Potentials and Challenges in Indonesia-Singapore for Indonesia Emas” on November 12^th, 2019, at Sampoerna University, Jakarta.

“But first of all, where is Indonesia now?” asked the ambassador. It is now ranked as the 16^th largest economy in the world, making it eligible to be one of the members of G20.

We do not want Indonesia to stop there, added Swajaya. “We have what it takes to be better than we are now,” he said. He mentioned some supporting factors such as the nation’s significant purchasing power which is ranked number 9 globally by the World Bank.

In order to achieve this milestone, Indonesia must be willing to learn from other countries who have shown best practices in managing their human resource. And Singapore is one of the undeniably convincing success stories of this.

“Several years ago, both nations (Indonesia and Singapore) have changed their paradigm of cooperation,” he said. It must be mutually beneficial.

One fact that we need to know is that Singapore is one of the biggest investors in Indonesia. “Because Singapore is a financial hub of the world, it has more funds to invest. It is not all Singapore’s money though, because Singapore also facilitates European and American companies’ business activities,” he explained. He also mentioned that in Singapore there are more than 5,000 German companies willing to explore investment and business opportunities in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries.

Mr. Swajaya also urged Indonesian students to learn more about Singapore’s digital economy. “Digital economy is one thing we can learn from Singapore. They invest in our startups in all sectors,” he spoke. (*/)