Acting Consul General’s Message — A commitment to build a nation that is prosperous, democratic & just

08/17/2016
Dicky Yunus
Acting Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia
Assalamualaikum Warahatullahi Wabarakatuh..
To our Saudi brothers,
IT is a great honor for me to share this happy occasion with our brothers here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the celebration of Indonesia’s 71st Independence Day.
Friday, August 17, 1945, was the culmination of all struggles and sacrifices of the Indonesian people to fight for their freedom. On that historic day, Soekarno–Hatta as Indonesia’s first leaders and the founding fathers of the nation proclaimed the independence of Indonesia on behalf of all the people of Indonesia. The proclamation was a bold declaration that a new nation was born, and that after a long struggle with unimaginable sacrifices, Indonesian people finally breathed the air of freedom and fought back for their dignity.
The celebration of Independence Day is a great significance to the people and history of Indonesia. It is a huge moment for the people of Indonesia marking the declaration of Indonesia as free nation from the foreign rule. It was the day that the Indonesian flag was unveiled.
For Indonesian people, independence means a commitment to building a nation that is prosperous, democratic and just, where development benefits all people, and where the rights of future generations are protected.
At a time when we are enjoying the benefits of peace and prosperity, we also use the moment to remember with gratitude the fallen heroes of our motherland who made the supreme sacrifice to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia.
Since Indonesia proclaimed its independence, it has been actively promoting the independence of other countries in Asia and Africa. It has also been actively promoting peace and participating in various United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Despite two big economic turbulences happening in 1997 and 2008, now our economy is growing well and poverty is declining. Indonesia’s economic indicators are positive and indicate that our economic development is growing strong. The government has worked hard to achieve financial reforms with the goal to develop the infrastructure for economic growth and create conducive conditions to sustainable development.
President Joko Widodo’s administration has defined a new paradigm for Indonesian national development priority agendas. That paradigm is so called as Nawacita, containing nine cita (dreams) as a guiding line to reach “Great Indonesia”. One of those cita is to build Indonesia from the rural areas by strengthening the regions and villages.
With its vast archipelago comprising 13,446 islands populated by 2,521 million people from 360 ethnic groups, Indonesia is home to world’s largest Muslim population and is the Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Since the reformation era, Indonesia has shown that it is a robust economy. This is all reflected in the increasingly prominent role of Indonesia on the world stage. As of now, Indonesia is an active and important member of the G20, UN, ASEAN, OIC and NAM.
Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have so far enjoyed stable and very strong bilateral relationship. Saudi Arabia has long been a much-valued partner in Indonesia’s development and we look forward to strengthening this goodwill and warm friendship in years to come.
Therefore, on this happy occasion, we would like to convey our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Saudi people for all contributions and close relations between two countries.
We are hoping to see the friendship and brotherly ties that have long been established between the two countries grow stronger on both bilateral and international levels.
On this day, I would also like to reiterate that Indonesia will continue to extend and enhance bilateral and brotherly relationship with Saudi Arabia for the benefit and prosperity of the two nations.
Untuk saudaraku Warga Negara Indonesia di manapun Anda berada di wilayah Arab Saudi,
Pada hari ini, Rabu, 17 Agustus 2016, kita selaku anak bangsa, kembali memperingati suatu peristiwa besar yang terjadi 71 tahun silam yang merupakan hari bersejarah di dalam kehidupan berbangsa dan bernegara, yaitu Hari Kemerdekaan Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia.
Hari Kemerdekaan Bangsa Indonesia ini menjadi momen yang berarti dan harus kita peringati setiap tahun untuk mengenang perjuangan dan jasa para pahlawan-pahlawan kita, yang tanpa gentar dengan semangat berkobar, mengorbankan jiwa dan raga untuk satu cita-cita mulia, yaitu Kemerdekaan Indonesia. Mereka rela bertaruh nyawa demi menegakkan dan mempertahankan harga diri Bangsa yang ratusan tahun telah diinjak-injak oleh kaum penjajah asing, membebaskan Bangsa Indonesia dan melindungi segenap tumpah darah dari cengkraman bangsa lain.

Harus kita sadari bahwa kebebasan dan kemerdekaan yang telah kita nikmati selama 71 tahun ini adalah hasil dari pengorbanan nyawa, perjuangan yang gigih pantang menyerah dan tekad persatuan dari para Pahlawan kita.
Untuk itu, Hari Kemerdekaan sejatinya tidak cukup hanya untuk kita kenang. Lebih dari itu, sesuai dengan nilai pengorbanannya, momen ini semestinya menjadi inti semangat nasionalisme yang menggelora dari seluruh elemen bangsa, termasuk anak bangsa

yang kini mengadu nasib di luar negeri, untuk terus berkomitmen bersatu-padu guna menjaga keutuhan dan martabat bangsa, bahu-membahu bekerja keras untuk bersaing mengejar ketertinggalan dengan bangsa lain di dunia, mempertahankan keutuhan Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia dari segala bentuk ancaman, baik yang datang dari dalam maupun luar negeri, yang dipandang mengancam dan membahayakan kedaulatan negara, keutuhan wilayah negara, dan keselamatan segenap bangsa.
Saudaraku Sebangsa dan Setanah Air,
Perjuangan kita belum selesai. Melalui momen hari Kemerdekaan ini, marilah kita bersama-sama mendukung upaya Pemerintah untuk menyukseskan sembilan agenda prioritas yang disebut Nawa Cita, dalam rangka menuju Indonesia yang berdaulat secara politik, serta mandiri dalam bidang ekonomi dan berkepribadian dalam kebudayaan.

Mari selalu kobarkan semangat perjuangan dalam setiap konteks kehidupan dan harumkan nama Bangsa Indonesia dimanapun kita berada.
Wassalamualaikum Warahatullahi Wabarakatuh..
Dirgahayu Republik Indonesia


LINK: