Building A Ship While Sailing S D Darmono

“Indonesia’s independence fighters lacked a clear blueprint in the 1940s when they set out to establish the nation... However, with Unity in Diversity, Pancasila (the nation’s five pillars), and their courage and drive to achieve independence... the Founding Fathers did manage to build a ship.” And so begins the story of the development of Indonesia over the past six decades, as told by Indonesian businessman Setyono Djuandi Darmono, also known as S D Darmono. Born in Yogyakarta in 1949, he is the founder, former CEO and now the President Commissioner of public-listed industrial estate developer PT Jababeka Tbk. He received the Ernst & Young Award in Industry and Manufacturing in 2004, and Indonesia CEO’s Choice of The Year of The Indonesia Business Leader Awards - CNBC in 2005 Drawing on his wide experience as a businessman and a business leader in Indonesia, Mr Darmono discusses issues such as Indonesia’s development, its strengths, its future, and also its areas of weakness, such as an inadequacy in education and the failure of some institutions of higher learning to produce graduates who are able to face challenges. He explains the importance of learning from other countries such as the US, Japan and Singapore, whose development, he writes “continues to be awe-inspiring”, and he also looks at the importance of both the private sector and government in some areas of Indonesia’s development, as well as the role that academics can play in nation-building. A chapter is devoted to tourism and how it can be grown to help the country prosper, and another chapter focuses on the challenges of urbanisation and the cyber age. With its detailed discussions on a wide range of issues and practical suggestions on development, this book is suitable for anyone with an interest in the culturally and geographically diverse country of Indonesia, as well as for the entrepreneur looking to invest in the country.