Soeharto warns businesses which fail to donate<\/p>\n
SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): President Soeharto said
\nyesterday big businesses which failed to give 2 percent of their
\nafter-tax incomes to the poor would be \"morally chastised\".<\/p>\n
Speaking to residents of Jaten village, Karanganyar, who were
\ncelebrating the 68th Women's Day, Soeharto admitted there was no
\nlaw stipulating that rich people had to donate to the poor.<\/p>\n
\"This duty is based on the state ideology Pancasila,\" he said.
\n\"In this country, according to the Pancasila, those who are able
\nshould be willing to help the weak.\"<\/p>\n
\"Just mark those businesspeople who refuse to donate 2 percent
\nof their profit to help the poor,\" he said. \"There's no need to
\nlash out or be upset. Just mark their houses... with flags or
\nwhatever, they should be ashamed then.\"<\/p>\n
Soeharto was explaining his recent decree which orders
\nindividuals and companies with net annual earnings over Rp 100
\nmillion to donate 2 percent of their net incomes. The order is
\neffective for this fiscal year.<\/p>\n
More than 25 million people live below the official poverty
\nline.<\/p>\n
Eligible taxpayers must transfer their donations directly to
\nYayasan Dana Sejahtera Mandiri foundation's account at the
\nHarmoni, Jakarta, branch of state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia
\n1946. Taxpayers will be required to submit a copy of transfer
\ndocuments to their nearest tax office.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said yesterday he made the decree after many
\nbusinesspeople had ignored the government's call for the
\ndonations. In December last year, Soeharto asked the rich to
\ndonate 2 percent of their after-tax incomes to help the poor.<\/p>\n
In September this year, Soeharto asked why half of those
\nqualifying for donations had ignored his appeal.<\/p>\n
\"Businesspeople don't need to worry about how the funds will
\nbe channeled, because the mechanism to distribute them has been
\nset up,\" he said.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto launched yesterday a nationwide campaign,
\ncalled Love Motherhood Drive, to curb maternal mortality rates.<\/p>\n
\"Mothers are the ones who pass on the legacy of humanity, thus
\nthe name Love Motherhood Drive,\" Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said the drive aimed to reduce the number of women
\ndying during pregnancy to about 225 for every 100,000 births by
\nthe end of the sixth Five Year Development Plan in 1999, and down
\nto 80 deaths for every 100,000 births by the end of the second
\nlong term development plan in 2019.<\/p>\n
The President said 390 mothers died for every 100,000 births
\nin 1994.<\/p>\n
\"Reducing the maternal mortality rate will signify the success
\nof national development,\" Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
An official from the office of the State Minister of Women's
\nRoles had said the drive aimed to halve the current rate of 450
\ndeaths for every 100,000 live births by the end of the sixth Five
\nYear Development Program in 1999.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's maternal mortality rate is higher than other
\nSoutheast Asian countries' rates and the average rate of
\ndeveloping countries, according to United Nations Development
\nProgramme data for 1995.<\/p>\n
A Unicef study in 1991 said bleeding was the main cause of the
\nsoaring maternal deaths, killing 67 percent of the mothers. This
\nwas followed by abortion, 10 percent, infection, 8 percent, and
\ncontamination, 7 percent.<\/p>\n
The State Minister for Women's Roles office will be in charge
\nof the nationwide drive, while provincial responsibility will be
\ndelegated to deputy governors.<\/p>\n
The 68th Women's Day celebration was held in the town of
\nKaranganyar, about 30 kilometers east of Surakarta, where the
\nlate First Lady Mrs. Tien Soeharto is buried at her family
\nmausoleum in Giribangun hamlet.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Tien died of a heart attack in April at the age of 72.
\nSoeharto, his family members, Vice President Try Sutrisno and his
\nwife, cabinet ministers and dignitaries attended a ceremony at
\nthe late First Lady's grave yesterday.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 22, 1928, Indonesian women activists established the
\nIndonesian Congress of Women to foster unity among women's
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
State Minister for Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi told The
\nJakarta Post that women were gaining more prominent positions
\nbecause many men better understood that the country cannot
\nprogress without women.<\/p>\n
\"This is not the time for women to stay at home and take care
\nof the kids. They must be given the same opportunities as men,\"
\nMien said. (06\/har\/08)<\/p>\n
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