Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan addresses a rally at the Cikarang mini stadium in West Java on Jan 22, 2024. - Antara
JAKARTA: Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan pledged to create more jobs during a campaign event in Bekasi regency, West Java, on Monday (Jan 22).
"What Bekasi residents in particular need most are jobs," Anies said during a rally at the Cikarang mini stadium on Monday, as quoted by Antara news agency.
According to Anies, while there has been a substantial amount of investment in the region, most of it had been capital intensive and did not result in the creation of more jobs.
Anies said that he and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar would continue to seek more investment and shift it toward labor-intensive industries in order to open up more jobs for the people of Bekasi regency.
Anies also lamented nepotistic practices during recruitment, saying that the practice was prevalent not only in the government but also in the private sector. The former Jakarta governor then pledged to address the issue through regulatory and law enforcement approaches.
“It is time for us to change the recruitment system into a properly managed transparent process to provide equality of opportunity,” he said as quoted by kumparan.com news portal.
“We don’t want only those who have connections to land jobs while skilled individuals with no connections can't even get a chance."
Other than Bekasi regency, Anies also held a rally in neighboring Bogor regency on the same day.
During the rally, Anies declared that his supporters were people who wished to fight for change.
“It’s not only about winning the competition, it’s about bringing about the people’s hope for change, and that’s what we need to remember,” Anies said in Parung Sports Hall, Bogor regency, as quoted by Antara. - The Jakarta Post
