President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asserted that violence against children must be stopped, and all Indonesian families should be on the front lines of efforts to protect the nation’s children and help them reach their full potential.
“Families, as the front line and most important aspect of children’s lives, must ensure that they carry out their function to protect children. Violence against children must be stopped and we cannot let it continue to happen,” said the President when he attended the peak celebration of the 23rd National Family Day in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday.
Jokowi said he hoped that his government’s infrastructure and system improvements could benefit all Indonesian people, so that every human in the country could reach his or her maximum potential and be more productive.
“Of course, focusing only on physical development will not be enough. The role of social institutions, such as families, is very important because human development starts from the family. It is from the family that human character and personality are created,” said Jokowi.
It is in the family that personal potential can be nurtured so that Indonesian children become qualified, competitive, and well mannered, as well as having good character and strong moral values, he went on.
Jokowi said National Family Day celebrations this year should be used as momentum to strengthen the function of Indonesian families to, for example, increase children’s religiosity, social sensitivity, moral values, and level of education, as well as their knowledge about reproduction and environmental protection.
Children, he said, must be protected from the negative impacts of information technology consumption.
“I remind you that families can play an active role in the mental [moral] revolution […], changing the mindset and character of Indonesian people from pessimistic to optimistic, from lazy to industrious, and from tending to only be followers to people who are eager to become leaders wherever they are,” said Jokowi.
