Day: August 24, 2021

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati provided details of budget allotments under the Rp321.2-trillion National Economic Recovery (PEN) program in 2022.

“The budget allotted for the health and social protection sectors will remain dominant,” she stressed during a press conference here on Tuesday.

A budget of Rp77.05 trillion has been allocated for the health sector and is focused on testing, tracing, and treatment; treatment of 250 thousand COVID-19 patients under the cost-sharing plan of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS); provision of four million COVID-19 medicine packages; and payment of health workers’ incentives for 12 months, she informed.

In addition, a vaccination procurement budget, valued at Rp38.44 trillion, has been allocated for 189 million citizens, or 70 percent of the total population, under the government’s facility; self-financed vaccination of 27 million citizens; and, provision of centered-vaccination support of Rp3 trillion, the minister added.

A budget of Rp126.54 trillion that has been for the public protection sector will be utilized for the Family Hope Program (PKH), which has 10 million beneficiaries; provision of staple food cards to 18.8 million beneficiaries; pre-employment cards; job loss guarantee program support; and precautionary measures of other social protection program expansions, Indrawati said. A budget of Rp90.04 trillion that has been allocated for prioritized programs to support labor intensive activities, tourism, food security, ICT, and other prioritized programs, she added.

The budget allocation for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and corporations has reached Rp27.48 trillion and is aimed at supporting the MSMEs’ subsidized interest, MSMEs’ loan service fee, and corporations and MSMEs’ supporting programs and other corporations, the minister informed.

Indrawati stated that the 2022 PEN allocation is a temporary allocation of the central spending next year so it can potentially increase as the COVID-19 handling budget expands from details of allocation transferred to regions and village funds (TKDD), financing and taxation incentives.

“We need to remain taking precautionary measures akin to 2021 when we did not predict the more threatening Delta variant’s appearance amid the pandemic,” she highlighted.

Referring to opinions voiced by experts, she asked the government to remain vigilant as other virus variants could possibly emerge.

“We maintain the sustainability of APBN (State Budget) in the medium to long term, so once the extraordinary needs in health and social protection sectors arise, we need to take the budget from other prioritized posts,” she outlined.

Source: Antara News

Chief of the National Demography and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Hasto Wardoyo, has said that his agency is working on reducing the incidence of stunting in Indonesia to 14 percent by 2024.

“For three years or so, the target number, according to the direction of the President, is to reach 14 percent in 2024,” he remarked while delivering a speech at the online National Coordination Meeting in Jakarta on Monday.

BKKBN has compiled three program strategies to accelerate the reduction of stunting in Indonesia, he informed.

He said the first program is named the National Action Plan for the Acceleration of Stunting Reduction (Ran Pasti).

The program aims to sharpen all forms of intervention activities at the upstream level to prioritize the prevention of stunting, he added.

The second program, he said, is an incubation program called Critical Success Factor, which seeks to ensure that families are able to prepare for family life. “What we have to intervene in order to produce high leverage is to intervene concretely and focus so that resources that are not too large are expected to reduce the stunting rate so that it can be faster,” he added.

In the third program, he said, these steps must be supported by an accurate information data collection system, surveillance assistance for families at risk of stunting, and auditing of stunting cases.

“The third one, of course, must be supported by an accurate information data collection system that is carried out in real-time from time to time,” Wardoyo remarked.

The National Coordination Meeting on “Moving Together To Accelerate Stunting Reduction” was attended by around 2,600 participants, including representatives of ministries and agencies, governors of 34 Indonesian provinces, 12 leaders of regional organizations related to each province, district heads or mayors, and partners of central and local governments.

Source: Antara News

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has said he believes that the budget refocusing policy to assist COVID-19 handling would not adversely affect the interests of the national marine and fisheries community.

“My instruction is clear that the people’s interest will not be bothered,” he said during a meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives here on Monday.

According to the House’s official website, the ministry’s financial statement evaluation for the 2020 budget year, the evaluation of activities in 2021, as well as activities proposal for the 2022 fiscal year were discussed at the meeting.

The ministry’s budget ceiling was changed from Rp6.5 trillion to Rp4.75 trillion due to the government’s fourth budget refocusing attempt, he informed. From the budget, the ministry will allocate Rp1.2 trillion for marine and fishery management programs and Rp113.1 billion for value-added and fisheries industry competitiveness programs, he added.

In addition, Rp68.2 will be used for quality environment programs, Rp253.8 billion for vocational education and training programs, and Rp55.4 billion for science and technology research and innovation programs, he informed.

The remaining budget is meant for management support programs, such as employee salaries and operational costs, he added.

“I urge that the community interest programs have to be carried out. I am open for any discussion regarding the refocusing attempt,” the minister said.

The ministry’s budget absorption realization reached Rp2.67 trillion, or 56.36 percent, as of August 19, 2021; however, the realization may reach 64.58 percent if it comprises the outstanding contract, he added.

“We will continue to maximize our budget absorption until the end of 2021,” Trenggono added. (

Source: Antara News

Village development programs will accelerate stunting reduction in villages, Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar has said.

“The village administrators will set priorities in building the future of children by paying attention to children and mothers’ health as well as education,” he said at the National Coordination Meeting held online here on Monday.

The development agenda will be carried out by providing accurate, complete, and sustainable data regarding the children and mothers in the village, he informed.

“Hence, in order to achieve the 18 Village Sustainable Development Goals, we will begin village data collecting from the neighborhoods, households, and individuals,” the minister stated.

Under the second goal, which envisages villages without hunger, Indonesia is targeting to end the prevalence of malnutrition, stunting, and anaemia, and increase the prevalence of breastfed infant to 100 percent, he said Achieving the third goal of a healthy and prosperous village will require the participation of all villagers in the national healthcare and social security programs, he added.

“All villagers should receive treatment from health workers in delivering labor to eliminate maternal and infant mortality. The infants will also get complete basic immunization,” he said.

During the meeting, Iskandar also informed that the government has set priorities for the handling of stunting in the provinces of Aceh, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara.

In the priority locations, Rp74.9 billion in village funds has been used for midwife operations, Rp221.5 billion for purchasing medicines, and Rp2.1 billion for providing additional food, he informed.

Meanwhile, Rp4.7 billion has been spent for village health community center building rehabilitations and operations, Rp1.2 trillion for the rehabilitation of buildings and operations of the village childbirth house, and Rp. 1.9 trillion for the rehabilitation and operation of the integrated health center. (

Source: Antara News

Indonesia is blessed with rich cultural diversity, whether in the form of archeological sites or highly valued crafts, such as the weaving of traditional fabric.

If they are utilized effectively, they can bring beneficial economic value to the people.

Some of the textiles reflecting the countries’ cultural richness that have been showcased by the fashion industry are batik, songket, and woven fabric with different motifs from various regions. If the fabric is a woven product, not a printed one, then its value is high.

According to Prof. Dr. Lilawati Kurnia from University of Indonesia’s Cultural Faculty, Indonesia’s traditional fabric has the same large potential economic value as tourism, if handled properly.

Promoting the nation’s fabric also aligns with regional tourism development, as long as it does not just promote well-known fabric, she told ANTARA on Friday.

Kurnia cited the example of Dayak Iban ikat, one of the nation’s ancient fabrics that is experiencing scarcity. Beyond the lack of a new generation of weavers, the material for the dye is also hard to get since it uses natural coloring.

According to Kurnia, ikat is often marketed in Malaysia and it is more well-known there. The world’s collectors are also hunting for ikat pieces and are willing to pay a high price for them.

For Kurnia, fabrics with ancient motifs need to be developed in earnest because they can help raise the economic value for weavers.

Consumer education

Almost all Indonesians own at least one piece of clothing made of traditional fabric. Most can tell the difference between batik, songket, and woven fabric, Kurnia said.

However, only a small percentage of them can tell the difference between real fabric and printed fabric, she added.

Printed batik, songket, and woven fabric are sold at a cheap price, she said. Meanwhile, fabrics that are made by weavers are more expensive since they take a long time to create, she explained.

Therefore, it is important to educate consumers regarding the high price of products made by weavers, she said. Especially, since there are a number of weavers who are on the verge of bankruptcy, she added.

Education related to traditional fabric and its development for the fashion industry have to be carried out in tandem with other industries such as tourism, industry, and education, she suggested. Considering how old weavers are on average, crafting traditional fabric should be included in the curriculum of schools near areas where the weavers live, so that the craft does not become extinct, she added.

Global taste design

Meanwhile, national chairman of Indonesian Fashion Chamber (IFC), Ali Charisma, said that to help traditional fabrics reach the international market, clothing design has to cater to a global and not just Indonesian audience.

Most of the clothes designed using traditional fabric still cater only to Indonesians, even though designers can still follow the colors and style trends from abroad while still using traditional motifs, he observed.

“We have to work on traditional fabric with a more global taste immediately. The shape has to be more simple, just like clothes that exist in Indonesian malls,” he explained.

International clothing brands survive since their tastes are global so they fit with everybody, he said.

The market for Indonesia’s traditional fabrics is very huge and there are scores of buyers who are looking for them, he noted.

The unique motifs from each region can be explored further for gaining a higher economic value, he added.

Targeting the middle market segment, which has a large and global purchasing power, using motifs inspired by local cultures, is a legitimate option instead of chasing global trends, but abandoning features that make the traditional fabrics uniquely Indonesian in the process.

“This isn’t because we are not supporting entrepreneurs, it’s just that entrepreneurs who use batik and woven fabric have limited (market). Economically speaking, this will be hard to pursue in terms of making them global, price, and consistency,” he elaborated. It would be a different story if the goal is to preserve culture while also boosting the economy, he added.

New Innovations

Most traditional fabrics usually have motifs that are passed on for generations. There is nothing wrong with this, but to attract younger or broader consumers, new innovations in terms of motif design is needed, he remarked.

However, ancient motifs can still be used to attract high class consumers or collectors, he added.

Ancient motifs will always be sought out by high class consumers, but new innovations can make traditional fabrics more fresh with different colors, he opined. “So the product can be enjoyed and feel modern,” Charisma remarked.

He said that he hopes a younger generation emerges with a passion to design new motifs that can be distributed to weavers to produce a new sell value.

Certain platforms of the government or other parties are also needed to provide training to weavers so that they can create motifs that cater to global trends.

Source: Antara News

The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) will channel all attention to eight priority sectors with the objective of boosting the nation’s independence and competitiveness in 2021.

“Innovation, science and technology are the nation’s main drivers of economic growth and development,” Head of BPPT Hammam Riza stated at the commemoration of the agency’s 43rd anniversary here on Monday.

The eight priority sectors comprise defense and security, disaster, energy, electronics, engineering health and food, information, maritime, as well as transportation.

Riza informed that the agency will develop technologies by performing seven roles.

The first three roles of engineering, technology clearing, and technology auditing refer to technology assessment.

The four other roles — technology intermediation, technology dissemination, technology transfer and technology commercialization or downstreaming — pertain to the application of technology.

The agency head remarked that the issuance of Law Number 11 of 2019 on the National System of Science and Technology was a new milestone for the development of science and technology and innovation in Indonesia.

“Science and technology had been set as the foundation for national development and not only for the improvement of science itself,” he affirmed. The BPPT is tasked with producing innovations and encouraging the successful implementation of technology in accordance with the mandate of the law.

The agency has produced various innovative products in several fields to date. It focuses on technology that can be utilized by the community and industry to reduce the use of imported products and increase the content of domestic components.

For instance, the BPPT has produced flare-type cloud seeding materials that are used for weather modification operations to prevent and manage forest and land fires.

Furthermore, the focus on digital transformation will continue to be intensified through the implementation of the Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE).

In supporting the system, the BPPT has developed i-OTENTIK, which is a digital signature that can be used by the public through the govca.id website.

Riza noted that the use of information technology in SPBE socialization was also applied during the general election.

Through electronic election innovation called e-Pemilu, the BPPT provides various integrated services — voter database verification using electronic ID cards and fingerprint data; digital form voting that can count real-time number of valid votes; as well as direct vote recapitulation sent to the General Election Commission Data Center when the voting duration is over.

Source: Antara News