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)