FORMER Indonesian president Joko Widodo has called for strong leadership rooted in an understanding of the people as the world confronts growing conflict, climate change and economic uncertainty.
The seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia, better known as Jokowi, said leaders must not only understand strategy and power but also listen to people, recognise their concerns and work towards their future.
“In times like this, the role of leaders becomes really important. A leader is not only someone who understands strategy and power, but someone who truly understands their people, who listens to them, feels their concern, understands their problem, and works for their future,” he said.
Jokowi was speaking at the inaugural Peace Dialogue, held as part of the Commonwealth World of Chinatowns (CWC) event series at the JEN Penang Georgetown by Shangri-La in George Town.
Making his maiden visit to Penang, Jokowi told an audience from Penang, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand that leaders should envision peace as the ultimate goal rather than merely the starting point.
“Leadership alone is not enough, because people also carry an important role. Strong people are not only what a society demands, but also a society that understands the direction and challenges faced by their leaders.
“When people understand, passion grows. When people trust, support follows.”
Jokowi said peace could be built when leaders and their people genuinely understood one another.
“When leaders and people truly understand each other, that is where the foundation of peace comes,” he said.
“Peace always comes from hearts willing to listen, and from the courage to understand. With big hope of peace tonight, together we open the dialogue.”
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, meanwhile, said trust must become an “infrastructure of cooperation” in an increasingly multipolar world, as countries navigate growing strategic rivalry and diverging interests.
He said dialogue remained essential to keeping countries and societies connected.
While infrastructure had traditionally been regarded as the foundation of connectivity, Chow said trust was increasingly important in keeping countries together when their interests began to diverge.
The event, now in its third edition, also drew former Penang chief ministers Lim Guan Eng and Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, as well as CWC co-founders Winfred Khoo and Lee Khai.
Asia Dialogue Society fellow Yusmadi Yusoff welcomed the initiative, saying dialogue was fundamental to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s efforts to reach out to the global community.
Yusmadi, who has been involved in numerous dialogue engagements and conferences, said peace could only be achieved when people recognised the need to speak, listen and understand one another. - September 6, 2026
