Human Capital vs Working Capital

Let me begin with the fact from Labor Force Situation in Indonesia by Badan Pusat Statistik per February 2009, based on the total number of young people between the ages of 15-24 years old in Indonesia (each country has different point of view to define the meaning of youth), the number of labor force between those ages is 21,066,360 people. Then, based on this economically active number population, the 4,726,153 are unemployed. This number shows us that more than 51% of the unemployment in Indonesia consists of young people. According to the improvement and the use of technology in most companies today, there will be more declining occupations which are likely to happen in the future. So, the good news—we have a lot of human capital and will have it more in the future.

In some rural areas, the access to study is still difficult to be reached, once they can achieve the access of it, they should face the high cost of enrolling school, and once they finally enter the school, they cannot imply what are the things that have been learned after finishing the school period. The problem of unemployment is partly attributable to the fact that education systems often offer curricula that are not related to the world of work. Big portion of students admit that most of their times are wasted in “studying” something rather than “learning” something. Thus, what is the insight of great opportunity in having a lot of human capital which are available to be absorbed if it is not followed by the high number of well-prepared young people due to the fact that they are less educated about the world of work? So, the bad news—we still have less of working capital.

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The Quality of Being Insistent in Claiming Each Country's Borderline

Regional Meeting WYC 2010 Photo Credit: Tunahan Yildiz (Turkiye)

In Indonesia, age of 65 is considered as a non-productive age and this number may lead you out of office and you can probably hold yourself out from the monthly expenses by your given pension money. For Indonesia, number of 65 reminds us about several events which happened 65 years ago when our founding fathers struggled in fighting the colonizer and as a country, this number reflects about a young country that we live in. For a country, this age is not a non-productive age, 65 is worth of a toddling step to an adult country.

As for a regional meeting that gathered several young people from South East, Central, and East Asia region which held in a youth congress few weeks ago, a group of young Indonesian people considered about some problems that they already or have to confront in their country. High number of unemployment, injustice education, environment lifestyle, bureaucracy and its corruption practices, infrastructure, also gap between rural and urban were the most convincing causes in creating fences to step outside from the third world countries group name. Six months ago, the former Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati—a Managing Director of World Bank at this moment, stated an expression to her University of Indonesia students in one lecture that we should be angry of the third world country classification. No one wants to be left as a third party.

The view of Kota Kinabalu City from above

An issue that has just came up few days ago about a conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia in claiming each country’s borderline showed us that there is still a lack of trust among the neighbor countries inside the ASEAN itself. Some people say about the low bargaining power that Indonesia has in the country’s diplomacy level only makes it getting worse. Charlene Manese, one of the youth delegates in that congress who also a staff in the house of representatives of Philippines told me that,

“Well, we also had a conflict with Malaysia though. Did you ever heard about Sabah? Philippines and Malaysia claimed this area each other.” she said openly.

Since the regime of Soekarno, Indonesia’s first president, conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia had been repeating with junctures and once led us to come out from United Nations because of the unstopping disappointment. Sipadan-Ligitan, batik, Ambalat, and traditional songs were eye witnesses of these countries’ relationship fluctuation.

Sabah, the land below the wind

“But I thought that Malaysia deserved of it because when I went to Kinabalu, one of the cities there, they were very serious. It looked on the good treatment that they gave to Sabah itself, that city was very nice and full of good services.” said Charlene with an open mind.

One thing that I have learned from the other country’s point of view in solving this kind of problem that stubbornness should be followed by the seriousness.

There is no wrong for us to take care of what we trust. Moreover, this precious thing is our nation’s identity which if it is hurt, it may give a threat to the unity of Republic of Indonesia. But when we allow ourselves to give a strong persistence but not accompanied by efforts to make others believe that we deserve, it might be useless.

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