Indonesian presidential candidates indicate move away from Australian cattle #banliveexport Indonesias presidential candidates have both indicated they would like to end the nations reliance on Australian cattle imports, in the final debate before Wednesdays election. Indonesias self-sufficiency policy has caused major problems for the country and Australian cattle producers. Indonesia is unable to meet its own demand for beef but attempts to restrict imports have seen prices skyrocket. The election of a new president offers a chance for import quotas to be relaxed, but in the final debate both candidates - Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto - indicated they would like to move towards self-supply. Mr Joko - the current governor of Jakarta, better known by his nickname, Jokowi - said that could happen in a few years after local production is strengthened, while Mr Prabowo pointed out that the logistics of distributing local beef needs improvement. Mr Prabowos last pitch kept to his nationalist theme. We want to build a dignified nation, a nation that will stand on its own feet, he said. Presidential candidates say they want to end the reliance on Australian cattle imports. Should producers be worried? A productive nation - a nation that wont only buy products from other countries, but a dignified nation that will also be able to produce and sell their own products. Mr Joko, who is known for his humble and unassuming style, took a more attacking position than usual. Indonesian election by the numbers 188,206,000 registered voters 2.03 million registered voters overseas 478,883 polling booths 67 million estimated first-time voters The elections budget is $320 million The election commission has hired 6 million staff for the poll Official result will be declared on August 9 In a veiled swipe he reminded the audience that Mr Prabowo, whose campaign rhetoric has been laden with anti-foreigner sentiment, has himself fled overseas twice, where he received his education and in one case protection from a foreign power. We were born, raised, educated and worked here in Indonesia, Mr Joko said of himself and his running mate Jusuf Kalla, known as JK. We are fully Indonesian and we, Jokowi JK, will only abide by the Indonesian constitution and by what the people of Indonesia want and we, Jokowi JK, will remain loyal to the Republic of Indonesia. The seemingly coded message is as close as Mr Joko has come to openly pointing out Mr Prabowos controversial past. Mr Prabawo was a military commander under the dictator president Suharto, and was married to the autocrats daughter Titiek. Shortly before Suhartos resignation in 1998, Mr Prabowo was involved in suppressing anti-Suharto uprisings. He was later dishonourably discharged from the military for allegedly ordering troops to take away peoples freedom after soldiers under his command kidnapped and allegedly tortured students. For a while he went into exile in Jordan. Mr Prabowo says he had been answering to superiors, one of which - the retired military chief General Wiratno - is supporting Mr Jokos bid for president.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 02:00:01 +0000
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