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EMARANG: Former president and chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri is encouraging the community to practice birth control.

"To have more children is indeed a blessing from God," she said at her party's regional conference in Semarang, Central Java.

"But what comes after that? We have to take care of their health, fulfill their nutritional needs, as well as their education."

The conference was attended by Central Java Governor Bibit Waluyo and his deputy Rustriningsih.

Megawati asked them to pay attention to women's plight and also asked the community to pay more attention to the family planning program to prevent rapid population growth.

Megawati underlined the importance of water management, saying due to bad management, the country would one day lose access to clean water despite its archipelagic nature.

"There are many trees being cut down, causing landslides. Mining is prevalent everywhere," she said.