REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Praising Indonesia's economic growth for being ranked fifth in the world, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said that any negative opinion of it was wrong.

"Our economy is placed among the top five in the world, and all pessimistic thoughts about it are wrong in my opinion," he stated in his speech here on Monday, during the commemoration of the 38th year of reactivation of the Indonesian capital market.

The president mentioned that the weakening of the stock market was not a domestic issue but was occurring in many countries, both developed and developing ones.

"This is a consequence of the world economic slowdown. However, our economy is still in the world's top five," Jokowi remarked.

Moreover, the head of the presidential communications team, Teten Masduki, revealed on the occasion that President Jokowi had also stated that the Indonesian capital market has huge potential, as it is driven by the strengths of the national economy that continue to grow.

With potential and a strong economic foundation, the Indonesian capital market has proven to be quite capable of facing the current global economic turmoil.

"Our stock market has weakened of late, as is being experienced by numerous other developing countries. The slowing growth of the world economy is affecting the performance of public companies around the world," Masduki pointed out.

He further noted that the turbulent stock market has been a cause for concern among investors. But it is not unusual for it to have occurred in the real sector's capital market, where price fluctuations take place often. Prices soar or drop in accordance with demand and supply.

However, issuers' financial fundamentals and the state's long-term economic potential are in a good position, which makes it the perfect time to invest.

Therefore, the Financial Services Authority, as the regulator, and the capital market need to improve activities part of their good corporate governance because the chief business of the market is one of trust and credibility.

Furthermore, the president admitted that good corporate governance in Indonesia was still relatively low and ranked fifth in the ASEAN region. This must be changed posthaste, before the ASEAN Economic Community is brought into effect by the end of 2015.

Also, the Indonesia Stock Exchange should serve as the driving force for the implementation of good corporate governance.

In addition, the quality and availability of information is an important part of the development of capital markets everywhere. The existence of the newly-launched capital market's television must rely on clear, balanced, constructive and current news.

In other developments, there are more people investing in the capital market currently as trading stocks and through mutual funds. Therefore, the purchase of mutual funds should be made hassle-free, especially for regular individual customers who will increase their investment in the future by purchasing shares directly as stock.

Moreover, the availability of cheap, long-term funding is an important pillar to ensure the sustainable growth of businesses. This money will be used for infrastructural development and expansion of companies that will eventually boost economic growth in Indonesia. As a result, the economic democracy will be strengthened and the national economy will not benefit major investors alone.

The head of state is also urging publicly listed companies to be able to carry out a program to distribute stock ownership for its employees. This mechanism will allow a generation of new investors in the Indonesian capital market to grow.

Besides, Jokowi has emphasized implementing protection programs for investors, including those to protect them from embezzlement, by raising the amount allocated to protect the market from Rp25 million to Rp100 million.

Law enforcement agencies and regulations should seriously and indiscriminately issue sanctions for embezzlers to raise the sense of security in the investment environment.

According to the president, the share of domestic funds will be sufficient later and will ensure that our capital market is stronger in the face of global financial flows that are easily moved from one place to another. A solid capital market will serve as one of the pillars to expedite national development.

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