Harmoko calls for modest lifestyle during crisis

Harmoko calls for modest lifestyle during crisis

JAKARTA (JP): Golkar chairman Harmoko again called for public
austerity to cope with the monetary crisis, saying that to do so
would be an act of nationalism.

"We need to try even harder to live simply and modestly,"
Harmoko was quoted by Antara as saying Saturday when addressing
Golkar's 33rd anniversary celebrations held by the local Padang,
West Sumatra branch.

"This situation is a test of our nationalism. We have to prove
our social solidarity," said Harmoko, who is also the House
speaker. It was Harmoko's second call for frugality in less than
a week.

Indonesia has been hit by the monetary turmoil since July
which has seen the rupiah decline against the U.S. dollar. The
rupiah dropped to a record low of 6,000 last week following
rumors that President Soeharto had died.

Last Friday, Vice President Try Sutrisno called on women,
particularly members of organizations of civil servant's wives
and female employees such as Dharma Wanita and Dharma Pertiwi, to
stop going on shopping sprees abroad during the monetary crisis.

Quoted by State Minister of Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi, Try
said that women should stop coveting for expensive foreign goods
when they could find similar products in Indonesia at more
reasonable prices.

"People of other countries will laugh at us... our country is
in trouble, how can we enjoy ourselves abroad," she told
reporters after meeting with the vice president.

"In short, this habit (of going on shopping sprees) is a no
go. Bapak (Try) says no way," she said.

Women organizations including the Dharma Wanita branches of
the Agency for Technology Assessment and Application of
Technology (BPPT) and the Ministry of Transportation were
recently involved in an uproar over shopping sprees abroad.

A group of 20 women from the agency's Dharma Wanita went to
Bangkok from Dec. 9 to Dec. 12. The trip was reportedly
subsidized by its chairwoman, Hasri Ainun Habibie, the wife of
State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie.

Hasri said the women went on holiday on their own initiative.
She did not travel with them, according to Terbit daily.

It was also reported recently that Dit Haryanto, the wife of
Transportation Minister Haryanto Dhanutirto, went to Bangkok
together with other members of the ministry's Dharma Wanita
chapter.

Customs at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport had detained
several boxes which contained goods from the shopping spree in
Bangkok, as they were not accompanied by appropriate papers.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said his wife
was only accompanying her disabled teacher to seek medical
treatment in Singapore.

But he admitted that several of the wives of his officials did
go to Bangkok on their own initiative, using their own money.

He claimed that customs had only a few goods, not dozens of
boxes as had been reported. (prb/09)