TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno defended President Joko Widodo or Jokowi's statement that called for the public to hate foreign products. He considered it a warning so that people would favor more local goods.

“The President’s statement, in my opinion, is a wake-up call. This is an alarm for us,” Sandiaga said on Monday, March 8, 2021.

Sandiaga argued that the call was a positive strategy to promote products by the nation’s children. It was also in line with the government’s economic recovery program to boost the sales of domestic goods and their potentials through the programs of Bangga Buatan Indonesia or Proud of Indonesia-made Product and Bangga Berwisata di Indonesia or Proud of Traveling in Indonesia.

Besides, the former deputy governor of Jakarta opined that the spirit raised by Jokowi through the call was also carried out by other countries. Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan were said to have lifted the same spirit to promote local products which greatly contributed to the economic growth.

The love for imported products, he went on, could be suppressed as the quality of domestic products is already competitive. He appealed to all parties to support the transformation proclaimed by President Jokowi.

“We must support this transformation and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy will go all out to support the call, a wake-up call, from the President,” Sandiaga Uno said.

Read: Sandiaga Uno to Reopen Bali for Foreign Tourists Soon

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA