Soeharto tells people to love local products

Soeharto tells people to love local products

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that a strong
national economy was the key to dealing with stiff competition in
the free trade era which will start early next century.

He said the national economy might go bankrupt when domestic
production were ignored by the people.

Speaking at Merdeka Palace to the vice governors of each of
Indonesia's 27 provinces, Soeharto said people should buy
Indonesian products for the sake of the nation, even though
foreign goods were often of better quality and cheaper.

"Not only failures in politics, but economic failures can also
destroy a nation," the President said.

The vice governors met Soeharto after attending a special
meeting on boosting campaigns promoting a greater role for women
in national development.

Soeharto was accompanied by State Minister of Women's Roles
Mien Sugandhi.

"The campaign to love domestic products must also target
children because they will play key role in the next century,"
Soeharto said.

At its leaders summit in Bangkok in 1995, ASEAN agreed to
liberalize its trade by 2000.

ASEAN comprises Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.

The economic leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum, at a summit in the West Java town of Bogor in 1994,
committed their countries to comprehensive regional trade
liberalization by 2020.

The President also asked the vice governors to work to reduce
the maternal mortality rate. Indonesia's maternal mortality rate
is 390 deaths from every 100,000 births.

He said many women did not have regular check-ups because they
could not afford them.

"There is a need to find a financing scheme to reduce the
financial burden of treatment," Soeharto said. (06)