New provinces must work hard to catch up with older ones : President Yudhoyono

News from ANTARA about new provinces in Indonesia can depict the picture of problem in West Papua is part of national problem and it happens in almost every new provinces that was created as a part of democracy and people’s demand.

We can start to understand the atmosphere of democracy throughout Indonesia including in West Papua.

Here is the news:

Pangkalpinang (ANTARA News) – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said new provinces should not merely have the spirit to progress but also work hard to catch up with older and more developed provinces.

“The spirit and ideals should be maintained because everybody wants to make progress,” the president said at a meeting with Bangka Belitung (Babel) community leaders here on Friday.

But new provinces such as Babel should not compare their present development achievements with those of older provinces, much less with the achievements of provinces that had been in existence since the proclamation of the country`s independence that already had complete infrastructure facilities.

“I should remind us all that there is no shortcut to successful development. Development does not yield the desired results as easily or as quickly as turning one`s hand,” he said.

He said the administrations of new provinces such as Babel, West Sulawesi, West Papua and Gorontalo were so far always turning to the central government for assistance in their efforts to catch up with older provinces.

The president said the central government would surely help them but they should also work hard in accordance with their own strength.

He told the community leaders and Babel regional government officials they should not become divided or disunited because of the emergence of so many more political parties in the country.

The president on the occasion also mentioned a number of achievements his government had made such as the lowering of the poverty rate and the repayment of all of Indonesia`s debts to the IMF.

On the occasion, the president also explained the government`s reasons for raising the domestic fuel oil prices last May.(*)