Jakarta - The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) believed that people's purchasing power must be maintained in order to sustain the national economy in the midst of the conflict between the United States and Iran.

"In order to maintain national economic growth, the policy mix is expected to be reviewed. The government must focus on maintaining the people's purchasing power because global uncertainty increases after the US-China trade war," Indef researcher, Rusli Abdullah, said when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The government's target of economic growth of 5.3 percent is expected to be quite high amid the unsupportive global sentiment.

"The target of economic growth of 5 percent is estimated to be quite severe due to the US-Iran conflict and the US-China trade war," he said.

In order to sustain the economy to continue to grow and to be maintained, the government must be able to further facilitate investment into the country.

"In addition to maintaining the people's purchasing power, the government should facilitate investment in the country," he said.

In the midst of global uncertainty, the public or investors in the financial markets were advised to be more careful in making their choices.

"Investment in precious metals or gold is considered the best at the moment to maintain the value of assets," he said.

In addition, he continued, state securities are also still quite promising, both in terms of security and in providing yields.

"That is because there is a guarantee from the government," he said.

While investing in the capital market, he suggested that investors choose company shares in the consumer sector, such as food and beverages.

"In the midst of turmoil, demand will remain strong," he said. (ANTARA)