HOUSE SPEAKER CALLS ON STATE OFFICIALS TO FOCUS ON CRISIS

Jakarta, Oct 9 (ANTARA) - House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono called on state officials to devote more of their thinking and energy to the problem of protecting the state's finances from the impact of the global financial turmoil.

"We all have to pay more attention to the need to anticipate various worst scenarios that can happen because of the global crisis so that its impact will not seriously affect the people," Laksono said here on Thursday.
He said the DPR was encouraging the government to take strategic emergency steps in anticipation of the impact of the global economic turbulence on the Indonesian people.
"The government needs to take emergency measures in order to prevent panic among the public," he said.
He welcomed the anticipatory steps the government had announced to the public. "We hope that the government will continue to take correct measures. This is also part of the efforts to restore the public's confidence," he added.
Laksono also hoped that businesspeople in the face of the current threat of global financial turbulence would continue to maintain high spirit and be able to find innovative solutions. "We have to maintain our exports," he added.
At the same time, Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank) also needed to pursue strategic and emergency steps so that the monetary stability could be maintained.
"We will continue to communicate with BI and the government in connection with the efforts to overcome the impact of the global financial crisis," he said.