National prosperity lies on human resources: Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): The key to Indonesia's prosperity lies in its ability to develop strong and skilled human resources, President Soeharto said on Saturday.

Inaugurating a national camp of Pramuka, the Indonesian scout movement, in a Central Kalimantan village, Soeharto said the country's abundant natural resources did not guarantee that its people would be prosperous.

Many countries with far fewer natural resources than Indonesia had become far more advanced and prosperous, he said. "The progress and prosperity they have attained are the results of capable human resources," he said, as quoted by Antara.

The President said a lot was expected from the members of Pramuka. "As members of the next generation of leaders, you will be the ones who should become the people of high quality," he said.

He said members of Pramuka should strive to master science and technology, broaden their horizons and become self-motivated and highly disciplined. "I have strong expectations that the Pramuka movement will play a pioneering role in the drive to build strong human resources in Indonesia."

The government has made human resources development one of its main priorities in the sixth Five Year Development Plan, which ends in March 1999.

The scouts taking part in the 10-day camp plan to carry out a number of community services in Bukit Rawi village, selected because it is regarded as one of the nation's poorest villages. They are scheduled to help with the construction of roads, a community hall and community baths and washing rooms.

They will also be doing some counseling work with the villagers on family planning, health and the government's nine- years' compulsory education program.

Soeharto welcomed the organizers' choice of Bukit Rawi for this year's camp as, he said, it would serve as a strong reminder to the participants that there are still millions of people in the country whose welfare has not yet been improved through the government's development programs.

Indonesia had made a lot of progress through development, he said. "But we should not close our eyes to the various shortcomings and weaknesses."

Official figures show that nearly 26 million of Indonesia's 190 million people still live below the poverty line. (emb)