W

hen she was a little girl, Tuti enjoyed eating rice cooked in coconut milk served with shredded chicken and/or egg porridge for breakfast. But her children had a totally different menu: cereal and milk.

Tuti was born and grew up in Surakarta, a Central Java city also known as Solo, which has tasty traditional cuisine. Her son, Kris, was born in Bandung, West Java. He was only one year old when his parents moved to Germany, where his sister, Vicky, was born a few years later.

"They love milk and cereal. They have it every day, not only in the morning, but even in the evening on the side," Tuti said.

If you think that Kris and Vicky are little kids, you are wrong. Kris is 21 and his sister is 18.

"Here you can say that milk is one of the main needs. People of all ages love to have it every day," said Tuti.

It is different in Indonesia, where many people still think that milk is only for children.

Many Indonesians, including Asians, are relatively shorter than Europeans not only because of the race factor. It is believed that the Europeans are bigger and taller also because of their habit of drinking milk, which is rich in nutrients and vitamins.

Milk is good. It supports growth and development, increases the immune system and helps prevent osteoporosis.

Not only does it contain calcium, which is important to help build and maintain bones and teeth, it is also full of essential nutrients and vitamins like vitamin A, B3, B6, B12, D, E and K, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium zinc and selenium.

Magnesium and zinc are essential to help enzyme systems in the body work properly. Magnesium is an important bone mineral and may be beneficial for the heart. Zinc is important for the normal structure of the body tissues and the immune system.

Vitamin A is good for skin, eye, bone health and for reproduction. Vitamin D can assist calcium uptake into bone. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which can play a role in the immune system and fight free radicals.

Milk has pacifying effects that help you sleep well and relieve stress. The protein that is found in milk can lower blood pressure and reduce levels of cortisol, a hormone released when the body is stressed.

Despite the great benefits of milk, most Indonesians are not in the habit of drinking it. As a matter of fact, Indonesia's milk consumption is the lowest in Asia.

Data from 2006 showed that milk consumption among Indonesians averaged only 7.7 liters per year. In India, it was 44.9 liters per year, while in Malaysia it was 25 liters and Vietnam 8.5 liters.

No less than the outgoing health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, has expressed concern about Indonesians' low milk consumption.

She worried that the condition could increase the number of children with stunted development, which now accounts for 38 percent of the population.

Therefore, she encouraged people to breastfeed their children for two years and give them milk at least until they graduate from elementary school.

"If this is done, I am sure we will have competitive generations," she was quoted by a local media as saying last month.

Many Indonesians stop giving their children milk after they reach the age of five as they mistakenly think it is only good for little kids.

Worse, instead of being in the habit of drinking milk, many men prefer to smoke.

But even if people were aware of the importance of milk, many would not be able to afford it. According to the latest official data, more than 30 million Indonesians or 14.15 percent of the country's population live below the poverty line, although the actual number could be much higher.

With the low monthly minimum regional wage-in Jakarta, for example, it is only a bit more than Rp 1 million (about US$100) - milk could be considered a luxury.

Rochayah, a domestic helper, has two granddaughters, who live with her. They are eight and two years old, respectively.

"The older one stopped drinking milk years ago when her father lost his job at a garment factory," she said.

The second granddaughter drinks milk twice a day despite family's tight budget.

"The milk is quite expensive. We spend more than Rp 40,000 for a *900 gram* box of powdered milk, which lasts only for a week," the middle-aged woman complained.

The price of powdered milk varies, with expensive brands reaching more than Rp 200,000 for 900 grams.

Fresh milk is more than Rp 10,000 per liter or a bit more expensive than a packet of cigarettes.

Surprisingly, milk is cheaper in Europe, where the minimum wage is between ?8 and ?12 per hour.

"Fresh milk is only between ?0.59 *about Rp 8,000* and ?1 per liter," Tuti said.

On the other hand, the price of cigarettes is much higher, about ?4 per packet.

Milk is expensive in Indonesia because, among other things, most of the raw materials are still imported, mainly from Australia and New Zealand. It is important to hold a public campaign to raise people's awareness of the importance of milk for all. But this will be meaningless if the people are still poor.

Thank goodness, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged during his inauguration ceremony earlier this week to increase "prosperity, democracy and justice."

Improving public welfare through economic growth coupled with equity will be one of his priorities over the next five years.