REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The progress and maturity of democracy is a tool to fulfill the interests of the people and not only of certain groups, according to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"The sum of all this governance reform is to make our democracy a servant to the needs of the people and not to the narrow interests of a few elites," Yudhoyono said in his opening address of the 7th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) on Friday in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Yudhoyono remarked that when any political system becomes elitist, all chains between political development, socio-economic progress and public participation would be broken.

"Since the era of 'reformasi' began in 1998, Indonesia's democracy has grown from one to another. As someone who has always believed in democracy, I am proud to have taken part in that transformative experience: as a general, a politician and Indonesia's sixth president," he noted.

The president added that the democracy in Indonesia was a work in progress, and despite all the things the country had gained, the future still held challenges. Citing it was his last BDF as the president of Indonesia, Yudhoyono expressed his gratitude for the participants' friendship, goodwill and unwavering support for his country.

"Our joint efforts have made the Bali Democracy Forum the premier inter-Governmental Forum in Asia for democracy, and that is an achievement we can all be proud of," he remarked.

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