Buy Indonesian

Buy Indonesian

President Soeharto has once again appealed to Indonesians to
show their appreciation of home-made products. Mothers, he said,
should encourage their children to use products made by
Indonesians.

It is indeed a cause for concern that due to the endless
stream of advertisements, young Indonesians in the middle and
upper classes have become virtually addicted to imported
products. There seems to be a certain prestige in using or
wearing foreign brand products.

This has created a trend so that young people in the lower-
middle and lower classes have developed a liking for fake foreign
products. Unfortunately, our own producers -- especially those in
the small business category -- are quite willing to satisfy this
demand.

The offense of manufacturing fake products aside, the appeal
to buy domestic products deserves our support, given the dire
consequences that a loss of the domestic market share might have
on our economy. At the same time, however, our preference for
home-made products should not be devoid of sound consideration.
Rather, it should imply a demand that our producers improve the
quality of their products and make them competitive and at least
come close to their imported equivalents in terms of quality.
Thus, the appeal to our people to cherish our own domestic
products cannot be separated from an appeal to our manufacturers
to improve the quality of their products.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta