Day: August 7, 2021

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Vaccination, tourism development can expedite Toba’s economic recovery

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Mass vaccination programs and creative economic developments in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, could accelerate economic recovery in the tourism area, according to Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno.

“These activities are the result of our joint work and quick actions to explore all areas of potential. We aim to develop Lake Toba to be a top-quality tourism destination in order to attract many tourists and drive recovery of the local economy by creating business opportunities for the people,” Uno noted in his written statement received here on Saturday.

The statement was delivered during the virtual launch of a recycling-based craft workshop at Jetun Silangit Batak Christian Youth Village, Siborong-borong Sub-District, North Tapanuli District, North Sumatra Province.

On the same occasion, the minister also attended the soft launch of Bobocabin Signature Toba — a modern inn based on a camping concept — which is located at the Nomadic Escape Caldera in Pardamean Sibisa Village, Ajibata Sub-district, Toba Samosir District, North Sumatra.

In addition, he virtually inaugurated the first phase of mass vaccination programs conducted by the Indonesian National Defense Forces.

Uno lauded all parties for their active support in facilitating the recovery of the creative tourism sector while handling the pandemic — especially the Lake Toba Authority Management Agency (BPODT) — that had undertaken various recovery activities.

“Let us unite against the pandemic. We need to keep our spirits and optimism high. Furthermore, please, always take care of your health by adhering to strict health protocols,” he affirmed.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo had made the development of Lake Toba Lake a priority, as the tourism destination had been designated as part of the UNESCO Global Geopark.

Source: ANTARA News

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Kediri rolls out COVID-19 vaccinations for pregnant women

Kediri, East Java (ANTARA) – The government of Kediri city, East Java has started administering coronavirus vaccines to pregnant women, following a central government nod, to reduce maternal deaths due to COVID-19 exposure.

“Recently, the maternal mortality rate has increased. Most of them (patients who died) have not been vaccinated,” said head of the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) working group for the city, Ferry Silviana Abdullah Abu Bakar, here on Saturday.

Vaccinations were rolled out for pregnant women recently after the central government decided to allow them to participate in vaccination programs, as part of an effort to suppress the spread of COVID-19, she added.

According to Bakar, vaccinations can increase immunity in pregnant women and lower the risk of severe symptoms if, by chance, they are exposed to the virus.

The vaccination program for pregnant women is being conducted in three locations in Kediri city — Sekartaji Park, Joyoboyo City Forest, and Tempurejo Park, she informed.

It is targeting pregnant women with a minimum gestational age of 13 weeks or more than three months, she added.

Based on the monitoring results so far, there have been no reports of severe adverse events following immunization (AEFI) in pregnant women, Bakar stated. Therefore, she said she hoped that pregnant women in Kediri would participate in the vaccination program as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Kediri Mayor Abdullah Abu Bakar said the government would continue to educate pregnant women not to hesitate to participate in vaccinations.

The number of pregnant women in Kediri based on available data is around 600, the mayor informed. However, some of them have not participated in the vaccinations yet, he noted.

The Indonesian Health Ministry has permitted pregnant women to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, as stated in the Ministry’s circular HK.02.01/I/2007/2021 concerning COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant Women and Screening Adjustments in the Implementation of COVID-19 Vaccination.

Source: ANTARA News

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Investigate bogus veteran fraud in East Nusa Tenggara: Veteran’s group

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) – Around 2,803 individuals were implicated in a bogus veteran benefit fraud scheme committed in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Chairman of BPMKH-VRI veteran rights’ association Stefanus Nahak stated.

“An estimated 2,803 bogus veterans were registered, and we discovered a case in which around 2,578 bogus registrations were done on a single day. The registered data is clearly fictitious because the registration for veterans’ benefits concluded by the 2008-2009 period,” Nahak noted here on Saturday.

He said his organization had in possession the complete data and documents on the bogus veterans’ fraud scheme from several regions in Timor Island, East Nusa Tenggara.

He explained the fraud scheme began by forging identity data before submitting the false data to the central government. The data was falsified to make it appear as though it was produced in 2009 and to make it more authentic, he revealed.

Nahak alleged that some individuals from the Directorate for Veteran Affairs of the Defense Ministry were involved in the practice.

“We also reported 12 officers from the military police centre of the Army to the police. We have the complete documents for evidence, and I have submitted them to the authority,” he remarked.

He believes that the suspects might have also committed extortion after a report surfaced that they had requested a sum of money for individuals seeking to be registered as veterans.

“The names registered on the fraud scheme are mostly not of veterans. They are not involved in any battle for the country to be conferred the veteran title. Individuals seeking registration as a veteran were even told to pay a huge sum of money,” he stated.

Nahak noted that the fraud scheme was a crime against the nation, as the veterans’ benefits were being distributed to ineligible people. He also expressed hope that the central government would conduct a systematic investigation to apprehend all parties involved in the bogus veteran fraud scheme.

Source: ANTARA News

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Government’s efforts to reduce smoking prevalence not yet optimal

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Public policy observer from the Gadjah Mada University Satria Aji Imawan opined that the government’s efforts to decrease the prevalence of smoking is not yet optimal.

This is apparent from the number of smokers in Indonesia that still remain high, reaching some 65.7 million people.

“The government needs to intensify its efforts to reduce the prevalence of smokers in Indonesia by involving entrepreneurs from the tobacco industry,” Imawan noted in his statement received here on Saturday.

According to the observer, one of the approaches for the government to lower the prevalence of smoking is through putting in place a special regulation for other processed tobacco products (HPTL).

However, a plan is still lacking to implement that regulation.

This is despite the fact that ample research was conducted into these products, and they were proven to have lower health risks as compared to cigarettes, Imawan stated.

The observer opined that the government was hesitant to make a move since the tobacco industry was one of the nation’s most lucrative industries.

“I believe that the government will mull over twice to take any radical step against the cigarette industry,” Imawan pointed out.

Meanwhile, during a Global Forum on Nicotine discussion, Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network Cliff Douglas stated that implementation of the policy related to this product should take into account the available research, especially those conducted by the tobacco industry.

Douglas believes that this is done to create a proportional policy.

Douglas opined that policymakers do not need to immediately believe anything that the tobacco industry has pushed forth. However, they can at least make an effort to verify the data of the research results from the tobacco industry.

Cliff is optimistic that his colleagues in the health sector would not be wary of taking this step.

Source: ANTARA News

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PANDI lauds BSN move to accelerate standardization of local scripts

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Internet Domain Name Registry (PANDI) has lauded efforts made by the National Standardization Agency (BSN) to accelerate the drafting of national standards for the digitalization of traditional scripts.

“The attempt is crucial for us to get the national standard ratification of the traditional scripts soon,” PANDI’s deputy head of business development, cooperation, and marketing, Heru Nugroho, said in a press statement issued on Saturday.

PANDI is a non-profit organization comprising Indonesian internet multi-stakeholders. It has been delegated to administer Indonesian domains by the Communication and Information Technology Ministry since June 29, 2007.

Initially, BSN only proposed two national standard formulation programs for a Javanese script keyboard layout and Javanese script fonts, Nugroho noted. But now, its program has been developed to also include the Sundanese and Balinese scripts, he said.

Earlier, PANDI had also tried to register local script domains with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, he informed. However, the attempt was not successful as certain requirements could not be met, he said. For instance, one requirement was that the scripts needed to be officially registered and widely used in Indonesia, he added.

PANDI expected the attempt would increase ICT-based local literacy, Nugroho said.

Meanwhile, BSN’s director of standard development for mechanics, energy, electrotechnical, transportation and information technology, Y. Kristianto Widiwardono, said that the standardization was an effort to preserve traditional Indonesian scripts.

“The standards aim to allow each local alphabet to be used widely on ICT platforms, devices, and apps. The software providers will have references for displaying the characters to make them easier to be used by the public,” he added.

Source: ANTARA News

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MPR urges Indonesian students in Malaysia to inculcate national spirit

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairman of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Bambang Soesatyo, has urged Indonesian students in Malaysia to inculcate the spirit of nationalism and civic awareness.

“I really hope Indonesian students in Malaysia participate in taking an active role in conveying the national narrative,” Soesatyo said in a written statement received here on Saturday.

Soesatyo made the remarks while attending a virtual event on ‘Socialization of the Four Pillars of MPR’, organized by the Indonesian Students Association in Malaysia (PPI Malaysia).

During the online interaction, Soesatyo highlighted that the national narrative will produce optimal results if it manifests in real work and does not rest on discourse and rhetoric alone. The expected result is the development of the nation’s character enriched by insights about Indonesia, he emphasized.

As a plural nation, Indonesia is fortunate to be united by a vision of nationality and common aspiration, as stipulated in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the MPR chairman added.

“That (the aspiration) is the realization of an independent, united, sovereign, just, and prosperous Indonesia,” he pointed out.

The Preamble to the 1945 Constitution also mandates a form of government that protects all people of Indonesia and the entire homeland of Indonesia, advances general prosperity, develops the nation’s intellectual life, and participates in implementing a world order based on freedom, lasting peace, and social justice, he noted.

After 76 years of independence, the Indonesian people will begin to move towards the era of Golden Indonesia 2045, Soesatyo continued.

In making this journey, he said, there are collective questions that must be answered by Indonesian citizens, such as the extent of the accomplishments that Indonesia has managed to achieve in realizing the vision of nationality and purpose of independent Indonesia as mandated in the Constitution.

“This question is also relevant for us to present to the younger generation of our nation,” he remarked while stressing that the current generation is the generation that will take over the wheel of national leadership in Golden Indonesia 2045.

Therefore, with the country marking nearly a century of independence, questions related to Indonesia’s achievements must be answered , he remarked.

Source: ANTARA News

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