TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo asked Indonesian people to buy products for their daily needs from domestic producers as a form of community care during this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. By this, he opined that the economy would not drop.

“Shop at small, micro-businesses (MSMEs), buy Indonesian-made products,” said the president in an event of the national movement dubbed #BanggaBuatanIndonesia, which literally means proud of Indonesian goods, via a teleconference on Thursday, May 14.

He acknowledged that there are many Indonesian creative works and products with competitive quality and design with that of foreign ones. Even home industries or MSMEs that produce the products, hence they must be national pride, he added.

“We must appreciate the works of Indonesian people, support them, provide them rooms as wide as possible [to grow], benefit them, and use them for the sake of the safety and development of the nation and country,” he remarked.

The government is working hard to end the pandemic soon, both in the health sector and the economic sector. Moreover, the country’s economy started to experience a slowdown.

Jokowi claimed he was grateful that Indonesia has a lot of great and quality products. “This pandemic doesn't bar us from being creative, even restraints encourage us to keep creating innovation, transform, and explore our potential and create opportunities,” he said.

EGI ADYATAMA