RI SHOULD DRAW INSPIRATION FROM DEVELOPED ASIAN COUNTRIES : SULTAN

Padang, Jan 20 (ANTARA) - To become a developed nation, Indonesia should take its inspiration from more developed Asian countries that have almost the same historical experience as Indonesia, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkuwono X said.
"Indonesia should draw inspiration from the more developed Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia to develop itself faster," the sultan said at a meeting with a number of Minangkabau traditional figures and Organization of Land Transport Owners (Organda) members here on Monday night.
The inspiration, according to the sultan, was necessary because the histories of the more developed Asian countries were to certain extent similar to Indonesia's. They gained independence and experienced authoritarian governments at almost the same time as Indonesia. The sultan said Indonesia and those countries also experienced difficult transitional periods. China's and South Korea's transitional periods were even marked by social and political turmoil which claimed a great number of lives.
"China and Singapore are to date still restricting the freedoms of their peoples in certain respects," Hamengkuwono said.
He added that chronic social diseases such as corruption, collusion, nepotism, and mismanagement in various fields also happened in those countries.
But the countries were able to awaken and move from the transitional period into democratic periods with positive activities that led them to become developed countries.
He said the greatness of a country was also determined by the morality of its people.
"If the morality of a country's people has declined, the country itself will also collapse, and it happens in any country regardless of their religion," the sultan said.
Therefore, the Yogyakarta governor expressed hope that Indonesia could learn from China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and other developed countries in order to make real progress in national development.