Luhut: Don't Be Angry With China, We Depend On Them For Medicine

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. (Photo: Instagram @luhut,pandjaitan)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan asked the Indonesian people not to be angry with China. Because, Indonesia has a dependence on the country in terms of medicine. Meanwhile, the Bamboo Curtain country has a big role in the supply of health products in the world.

China, said Luhut, has become a major medicine producer that contributes to two-thirds of the world's supply of medicines. Therefore, Luhut asked the public not to look down on Indonesia's closeness to China.

"We shouldn't be angry with China either. It turns out that two-thirds of the world's medicines are produced from China. What is called MIT, the name is Harvard, and all kinds of messages go to China," he said at a virtual press conference, Tuesday, June 15.

In addition, said Luhut, China currently has high-class technology. Therefore, Indonesia must take advantage of this momentum to cooperate in the field of medicines and medical devices.

"Incidentally, our relationship is very good, we use it to transfer technology to us, they invest in us, so that we can get the basic raw materials for the medicine," he said.

Furthermore, Luhut said cooperation with China would be very beneficial for Indonesia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because, Indonesia will be able to meet the needs of medicines and medical equipment independently.

"So if there is a lockdown in several countries, such as India's lockdown, we have no problem with paracetamol which has not yet been produced. Now Alhamdulillah, we can produce it even though there are still obstacles," he said.

Although still dependent on China, the government continues to encourage domestic production to gradually replace imported medicines and medical devices from China and others. Luhut highlighted that the use of health products in the country is still lower when compared to imports.

Until June 2021, domestic orders for medical devices are only Rp2.9 trillion. Meanwhile, imported medical devices are 5 times larger than local products with a value of Rp12.5 trillion through e-catalogs.

"Therefore, affirmative action is needed by the government to increase domestic medical device spending by a minimum of Rp6.5 trillion for 5,462 goods for the 2021 fiscal year through e-catalogs. In addition, it is necessary to increase domestic medical device production capacity and invest in the field of medical devices," he explained.

Luhut said that of the 358 types of medical devices that have been produced domestically, 79 of them have actually been able to substitute or replace imported products for national needs.