The COVID-19 pandemic has ended. After 1,202 days of Indonesia's grim period, the dark cloud of the virus that first emerged in Wuhan passed. Millions have suffered, activities were restricted, the national budget strained, and healthcare services nearly collapsed.

However, we all can get through this since all of the national elements moved together, working collectively. The health crisis is surmountable. Now, Indonesia is poised to go forward, pursuing the goal of achieving ‘Indonesia Emas 2045’.

"Indonesia now has a great opportunity to achieve Indonesia Emas 2045, to position itself among the world's top five economic powers. Not only is the opportunity present, but so is the strategy to achieve it" said President Joko Widodo, as quoted in the preface of the 2023 Government Performance Achievement on Friday, 27 October 2023.

When COVID-19 struck, the world had no previous precedent. Countries seemed clueless on how to ensure their people's safety.

The outbreak was extraordinary since it had never happened before. Only resilience can help Indonesia weather the storm, including the pandemic.

In Indonesia, the government swiftly acted by providing stimulus through six sectors of the National Economic Recovery (PEN). These sectors included health, social protection, business incentives, support for MSMEs, corporate financing to regional governments, and various ministries/agencies.

The swift recovery necessitated substantial financial support. The government had to allocate PEN funds amounting to Rp695.2 trillion. Wise fiscal management ultimately prevented Indonesia from plunging into economic collapse.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious threat to the world, including Indonesia. Despite the winding path, the country successfully navigated it with effective crisis management.

The resolution of the health crisis and economic recovery progressed swiftly and well. Since late 2021, the economic has growth consistently remained above 5 percent for seven consecutive quarters.

Within two years, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.45 percent. Indonesia moved up, re-entering the group of upper-middle-income countries in 2022.

Indonesia's debt ratio also remains one of the lowest among the G20 and ASEAN countries. These achievements are attributed to the government's astute measures in handling the pandemic, including issuing regulations allowing a budget deficit above 3 percent for three years.

The parliament (DPR) approved and enacted it as Law Number 2 of 2020. The next arduous task was to fill the large budget deficit.

Finally, the government collaborated with Bank Indonesia to execute a burden-sharing strategy. Over the three years of the pandemic, the central bank purchased government bonds worth Rp1,104 trillion in the primary market. Fiscal space relief acted as a buffer for the national economy's shocks.

Undoubtedly, when COVID-19 struck in 2020, Indonesia's economy plummeted by 2.07 percent. However, through hard work and collaboration, the economy returned to positive growth in 2021 and reached 5.31 percent in 2022.

This success is attributed to sustained strong export performance and solid domestic demand. In the first half of 2023, the economy grew by 5.11 percent.

The economic recovery resulted in lower unemployment and poverty rates that approached pre-pandemic levels. Extreme poverty levels continued to decline during the pandemic.

With a threshold of US$1.9 per capita per day, over nine years, extreme poverty decreased by more than five percent by March 2023. Efforts are now underway to reduce extreme poverty to near zero percent by 2024.

The world's dynamics are unpredictable. Fiscal space must be flexible to adapt. As during the pandemic, budget deficits had to widen.

However, it's critical that as the economy recovers, management returns to normalcy. Through Law number 2/2020, as well as Presidential Regulations number 54/2020 and number 72/2020, the government adjusted the budget and widened the deficit to support COVID-19 handling and economic recovery.

The budget deficit was allowed to surpass 3 percent of the GDP during the coronavirus response period and should return to a maximum of 3 percent of GDP in 2023. This strategy proved effective in strengthening resilience and accelerating economic recovery.

By 2022, the budget deficit was already below 3 percent, and the economy grew by 5.3 percent, surpassing pre-pandemic achievements. The 2024 State Budget continues to aim for a healthy posture with sustained strong stimulus to accelerate Indonesia's economic transformation. This is undoubtedly supported by a sharp increase in state revenue in 2024.

A Decade Milestone for the Jokowi Government (2014-2023)

• In 2014, the Jokowi Government introduced the Healthy Indonesia Card and the Prosperous Family Card.
• In 2015, Indonesia consistently maintained economic growth, with a 5.02 percent increase – the highest growth since 2005.

In the same year, the Jokowi Government pledged to eradicate corruption at all levels and disregard gender bias. Notably, when selecting commissioners for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), President Jokowi chose nine women for the Selection Committee.

• In 2016, the government made the e-ID card to be valid for a lifetime and initiated the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train. Indonesia continued to make an impact internationally.
• In 2017, the government disbanded the socio-political organization Hizbut Tahrir.
• In 2018, Indonesia hosted the Asian Games for the second time, following the first in 1962. During the same year, Indonesia gained majority ownership (61.23 percent) of Freeport Indonesia, bringing it back under national control.
• In 2019, Indonesia conducted peaceful and high-quality elections. In the same year, Indonesia achieved a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score of 40, the highest in history.
• In 2020, the world faced a disaster, including the COVID-19 pandemic. During this year, the government enacted Law Number 11 of 2020 regarding job creation.
• In 2021, Indonesia hosted the Mandalika 2021 MotorGP. It was during this time that the government designated Nusantara as the nation's capital.
• In 2022, Indonesia successfully built 464,280 kilometers of regencies/city roads, engaged in peace missions to Russia and Ukraine. In the same year, Indonesia led the G20 Summit. Domestically, Indonesia had 38 provinces and held groundbreaking events.
• In 2023, approaching a decade of governance, it achieved notable milestones: the certification of 88 million lands, hosting the ASEAN Summit and the 2023 High-Level Meeting of the Archipelagic and Island States Forum, and the inauguration of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train.

Writer: Firman Hidranto
Editors: Ratna Nuraini/Elvira Inda Sari/Siti Chodijah
Translator: Irvina Falah