Promote our own products

Promote our own products

The President's instruction calling on government agencies to
pursue austerity seems most timely. In addition, the President
also reminded cabinet ministers, heads of nonministerial
government agencies, provincial governors, regents and city
mayors not to issue any regulations that run against the
deregulation and debureaucratization measures that have so far
been taken. All such regulations that may have already been
erroneously issued should be revoked.

The President's call for improved public service is most
appropriate. After all, the second long-term development plan
foresees that 70 percent of investments to be made during this
second long-term development period will come from the private
sector. The government's efforts will be focused more on projects
of strategic significance, such as building the kinds of
necessary infrastructure in which the private sector is not
interested.

In order to play this role, government agencies and officials
are needed who have a true understanding of their functions as
servants of the public -- officials who are not easily tempted to
put the interests of groups of people before those of the public
in general. In a case where some display of opulence is indeed
necessary for the sake of promoting this country's good standing,
then priority should be given to the use of our domestic
products. If our own officials are ashamed to use our own
products, how can we hope for others to use them?

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta