Indonesia approves $6.15 billion stimulus package

Indonesia's parliament has approved a six-billion-dollar stimulus package to protect Southeast Asia's largest economy from the worst of the global economic crisis, lawmakers said Wednesday. The parliamentary budget committee approved the plan worth 73.3 trillion rupiah (6.15 billion dollars) late Tuesday after weeks of debate, amid a rash of bad economic news from some of Asia's major economies.
"We approved the stimulus in accordance with the government's efforts to overcome the effects of the global slump," committee deputy chairman Suharso Monoarfa said. "We hope that the stimulus can prevent rising unemployment, sustain consumer spending capability and strengthen businesses." Indonesia's economy has slowed due to falling commodity prices and plunging demand for its exports from major buyers such as Japan and the United States. Even so, the mainly Muslim country of 234 million people is still hoping to post growth of 4.5 percent in 2009, down from a previous forecast of 6.0 percent.