Soeharto rallies small businesses
Soeharto rallies small businesses
MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara (JP): President Soeharto said
yesterday that small businesses and cooperatives were strong
enough to participate in national development if they were
properly managed through strategic partnerships with large
companies.
Speaking at the opening of the ninth national festival of
agriculture, cooperatives and family-planning, Soeharto also
called for better cooperation between farmers and private
companies to develop industries that could add value to
agricultural products.
"We have to improve the management of agribusiness and agro-
based industries to diversify our food products and to increase
their competitiveness against imports through cooperation by
various parties," he said at the festival, which was also
attended by Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises
Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya, Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin
Baharsjah and Minister for Population Haryono Suyono.
The President said that it was important to improve the
welfare of Indonesian families, so that everyone could
participate in national development.
Sjarifudin said that approximately 12,000 people were
participating in the one-week festival in the Gerung village in
Western Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
The participants are to learn through discussion groups. And
they are to display various products made by small businesses and
cooperatives, and several new types of farm machinery.
There are over 100 counters open at the festival. Each
province has at least three counters which are provided by the
provincial offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry
of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises and the National Family
Planning Board.
A number of state-owned companies including electric company
PT PLN, oil company Pertamina, airline Garuda Indonesia and PT
Telkom are using the festival to promote their partnership
programs with small businesses and cooperatives. Several private
companies such as PT Astra International and PT Sempati Air are
doing the same.
After the ceremony, Soeharto met farmers, executives of
cooperatives and family planning program participants, who hailed
his health.
"I made the visit to Lombok a priority even though I just came
back from a medical checkup overseas two days ago," he said.
"With the prayers of the Indonesian people, my health proves to
be far better than expected."
Some peasants who lived about 40 kilometers from Gerung
village told The Jakarta Post that they came all the way to the
festival just to welcome Soeharto.
Almost all the participants clapped their hands every time the
speakers make a statement about Soeharto's health. (alo)