JAKARTA. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called on his Cabinet on Tuesday to strengthen consumer education, considering that the large population of Indonesia was not only a huge market for sellers, but also for buyers. 

"This is why consumer education and protection must be put as our first priority," Jokowi said at the opening of a closed-door Cabinet meeting. 

According to Jokowi, Indonesia's consumer confidence index [IKK] was at 30.86 percent last year, meaning that Indonesians' level of understanding of their consumer rights was still low. 

Several cases have occurred that seen Indonesian consumers become victims, such as the purchase of fake medicines or vaccines, expired foods and improper credit card usage, as well as e-commerce transactions, Jokowi said. 

Household consumption has continued to play a significant role in Indonesia's economic growth, making up 5.02 percent of last year's gross domestic product (GDP).

However, Jokowi noted that while Indonesian consumers were now starting to understand their rights, they were still unable to fight for them. (dan)

Editor: Sanny Cicilia