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INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH OF

THE AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY FOR REGULAR TRAINING PROGRAMME

ON “SME DEVELOPMENT THROUGH VTET INSTITUTIONS”

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, MARCH 12, 2005

 

Honourable Mr. Noorhaizamdin bin Haji Mosbi,

Director Seameo-Voctech Centre,

 

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Assalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

 

At the outset, I would like to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to SEAMEO – VOCTECH for inviting me to deliver an inspirational speech at the closing ceremony of Regular Training Programme on “SME Development Through VTET Institution”.

 

Before I proceed further, I would like to personally congratulate SEAMEO VOCTECH Regional Centre for being awarded ISO 9001 : 2000 Certification recently. I sincerely hope the Centre to grow faster and relevant to the diverse needs of the people in the region.

 

Distinguished Guest,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

            I believe that we are all recognize the important role of SME in the developing countries such as in SEAMEO member countries which include Brunei and Indonesia.  In Indonesia, SME is the “back bone” of the country’s economy.   Unlike big enterprises which were suffered during the Economic Crisis in the late 1990s, SME in Indonesia could survive and even could assist the country to provide job opportunities for the jobless people.   This was because most of the SME in Indonesia used less imported raw materials to produce their products and have less foreign debt.  That is why, when the value of Rupiah currency is weakened at that time, and the big enterprises needed to spend more Rupiah to get US Dollar to import their raw material, the SME needed only a small adjustment on the production strategy. In Indonesia, enterprises that classified as Small and Medium, are enterprises with capital less than Rp 500. million or less than B$ 100.000,-. The SME in Indonesia divided into three categories such as: Micro Enterprise or the enterprise with capital less than Rp 250. millions (less than B$ 50.000,-), Small Enterprises are enterprise with capital between Rp. 250 millions and Rp 500 million, and Medium enterprises are enterprise with capital  Rp 500 million.

 

 

Distinguished Guest,   

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

            The main problem and issues which are of relevance to these SME are:  low quality of human resource, lack of access to capital, lack of access to market, lack of access to technology sources, and the weakness of the institution image. Sometime they can not overcome such problems and weaknesses, and they need assistant from the government. Steps have been taken by the Government to assist the SME in Indonesia such as follows:

 

1.                                          To increase the quality of human resource, the Ministry of Manpower provided educational and training courses for the SME staffs.

2.                                          To increase their capital, the Government has instructed banks to provide special scheme of credit to SME.

3.                                          To open the market for the SME products, all Indonesian institution concerned including Embassies are instructed to give services to assist them.

4.                                          To link SME to technology sources, universities are ready to assist.

5.                                          Regarding the institution image because they are small, particular Ministries are instructed to assist them such as Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Manpower etc.

 

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

            In regard with the development of SME in Brunei Darussalam, I am glad to see that VTET institutions are equipped with modern equipments and facilities that play a significant role in supporting the SME growth.   VTET institutions has helped the participants to develop its own Business Plan by providing day-to-day experiences in which business spirit and entrepreneurial skills could be instilled to the students to enable them to operate their own business after graduate.

 

Distinguished guest,

Ladies and Gentleman,

 

            To conclude, I would like to take this opportunity once again to congratulate all participants and deeply appreciate the VOCTECH Steering Committee and all the facilitators for their hard work in accomplishing and conducting this training successfully.

 

            Congratulations and best wishes to all graduants.

 

Thank you,

 

Wassalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

 

 

Bandar Seri Begawan, March 12, 2005