Indonesia should invest more in science for the nation’s future

The Jakarta Post: The Indonesian government should invest in science, as the future of the nation depends on more investment in science and technology, says a science expert from the United States. US science envoy Bruce Alberts said that the Indonesian government should recognize that the country’s future depended on science and technology.

“The Indonesian government needs to pay attention and ask questions about how they spend money and prioritize needs in science and technology,” Alberts told reporters after his presentation about Indonesia’s future in science at the US Cultural Center in South Jakarta on Thursday.

Alberts said that science and technology was a wonderful long-term investment for the health and future of Indonesia. Alberts also said that the government usually takes an unfortunately short-sighted view, because a politicians’ life in office is relatively short compared to the long-term comprehensive task of building the nation. Most that was meant to be good eventually gets lost in lost self interest.

“We need your leader to think about their grandchildren and not about the next year,” he said. He said that Indonesia had a lot of talented scientists and engineers and the government needed to provide industry in many sectors and make the use of those people so that they could improve....