Day: October 8, 2021

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Indonesia receives over 240,000 AstraZeneca doses from UK

Indonesia has received 243,440 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the United Kingdom government as an expression of its solidarity and global cooperation on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I wish to express our gratitude to the United Kingdom government for sharing a portion of their COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indonesia,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a written statement released by the Communication and Informatics Ministry here on Friday.

The current vaccine arrival is the second, as the UK government earlier had donated around 620 thousand vaccine doses for Indonesia on August 2, 2021, she informed.

Indonesia reiterates its firm support for global cooperation for handling the pandemic through the vaccine dose-sharing scheme, the foreign minister said.

She also lauded the UK government’s decision to rescind Indonesia from its COVID-19 red list, saying it is proof of global confidence in the improving pandemic situation in Indonesia.

The decision to remove Indonesia from the UK red list followed a recent meeting between the Indonesian and the UK foreign ministers during the UN General Assembly session at the end of September, Marsudi said.

The spirit of solidarity and collaboration among countries in the world is key to addressing the health crisis, she added.

With the arrival of the 86th vaccine batch, Indonesia has obtained a total of 278,527,220 vaccine doses, both in the form of finished products and bulk, she noted.

“The latest vaccine doses’ arrival further secured our vaccine stocks as the government aimed for 70 percent national vaccination coverage at the end of 2021. As of October 8, 2021, around 46.52 percent of the national population has received the first vaccine dose and 26.49 percent of the population has completed their vaccine doses,” the minister said.

Residents should continue to abide by the health protocol as the government continues to expedite the vaccination effort, she added.

Source: Antara News

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Aceh police destroy seven kilograms of crystal methamphetamine

The Aceh police have destroyed seven kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or sabu-sabu, that local cops seized during a drug raid operation at a hotel in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra Province.

The drug package was destroyed by using a blender on Thursday, Director of the Aceh Police’s Narcotics Division Senior Commissioner Ade Sapari noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted in Banda Aceh on Friday.

The destroyed crystal meth package belonged to three suspected drug couriers that police officers had arrested in Medan. They are only identified by their initials as IS (43), ES alias SO (24), and HM (24), he revealed.

The drug raid operation was launched following a tip-off that the suspects might have a link to 343 kg of crystal meth that Aceh police officers confiscated in Bireuen District, Aceh Province, in January 2021.

IS told police investigators that he had concealed the seven-kg crystal meth package in a bush near Alue Johan Village in Plimbang Sub-district, Bireuen District, early this year, Sapari noted.

The police charged the suspects with violation of Articles 114 (2) and 112 (2) of Indonesia’s 2009 Anti-Narcotics Law, and if found guilty, the suspects could face five to 20 years in prison or death penalty.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, with scores from its working-age population trapped in a vicious circle of drugs.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck the country on March 2, 2020, drug lords have continued to pose a serious threat to the country with drug-trafficking rampant even amid the health crisis.

Since his first leadership term, President Joko Widodo has been reminding the nation of the serious impact of drug consumption on Indonesia.

The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs come from different communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Citing the result of a survey by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Vice President Ma’ruf Amin stated that there were over 3.4 million drug users in Indonesia.

The survey has shown that about 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians, aged between 15 and 64, were pushed into drug addiction, he noted.

Source: Antara News

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Police follows up on PPATK’s finding of Rp120-trillion IFFs

Indonesia’s National Police confirmed about following up on the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center’s (PPATK’s) finding of illicit financial flows (IFFs) resulting from drug trafficking worth Rp120 trillion.

“We are following up on the finding. Let us wait for the outcomes of the police and PPATK’s joint investigation,” National Police spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Rusdi Hartono, noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted on Friday.

To this end, investigators from the National Police’s Narcotics Division have coordinated with their counterparts from the PPATK, he remarked, adding that they had repeatedly worked closely to uncover several cases.

The finding of the IFFs, resulting from drug trafficking, was earlier disclosed by PPATK Head Dian Ediana Rae as published on the PPATK’s official YouTube channel on October 6, 2021.

According to Rae, the illicit financial flows, totaling Rp120 trillion, were suspected of having resulted from drug trafficking operations between 2016 and 2020.

The PPATK recorded that 1,339 individuals and corporations were involved in the illicit financial flows, Rae stated.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, with scores from its working-age population trapped in a vicious circle of drugs.

A report from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has revealed that around 50 drug use-related deaths occur daily in Indonesia. However, the deaths have failed to deter other drug users owing to the fact that drug trade in the country is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.

Currently, Indonesia is battling two fronts: the spread of the novel coronavirus disease and the trafficking of drugs that continued in spite of mobility restrictions and border closures by countries fighting to curb COVID-19 transmission.

Since his first leadership term, President Joko Widodo has been reminding the nation of the serious impact of drug consumption on Indonesia.

The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs come from different communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Citing the result of a survey by BNN and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Vice President Ma’ruf Amin stated that there were over 3.4 million drug users in Indonesia.

The survey has found that some 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians, aged between 15 and 64, were pushed into drug addiction, he noted.

Source: Antara News

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Pause between general, regional elections needed: MPR Deputy Speaker

A pause between the presidential and parliamentary elections, which will be held simultaneously with regional head elections in 2024 is necessary to spread the electoral committee workload, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Deputy Speaker Syarief Hasan has opined.

“The General Elections Commission (KPU) surely needs a sufficient preparation period to ensure a safe and smooth election conduct,” Hasan said in a written statement issued in Jakarta on Friday.

He expressed concern that the electoral commission and the Constitutional Court — that adjudicates electoral disputes — would be overwhelmed if the time gap between the general and regional elections is too short.

“We are concerned the election conduct would not be optimal if the time gap between the elections is too short,” Hasan said.

He expressed confidence the KPU will properly judge its ability to hold simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, followed by regional elections, in 2024, as the institution has sufficient experience and resources on election conduct.

“We should be attentive to the electoral commission’s workload, and we should revise the electoral plan if a potential issue is detected,” the deputy speaker added.

Despite the simultaneous elections in 2024 being codified in the electoral law, a proper law interpretation with related factors taken into account is necessary to ensure a democratic, smooth, and peaceful conduct of elections, he remarked.

“Time arrangement is one of the most important factors we should consider for the 2024 elections,” Hasan stated.

He said the government and the electoral commission are yet to agree on a definitive date for the simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.

While the government has proposed May 15 for the general election, the KPU has proposed that the election be conducted earlier on February 21. The date of the regional head elections has been agreed to be November 27, 2024.

Source: Antara News

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Local figures playing key role in influencing societal tolerance

Local figures have had a significant influence on improving tolerance levels in Indonesian regions, research director of SETARA Institute for Democracy and Peace, Halili Hasan, has said.

“Local figures hold significant influence to improve tolerance level in their region,” he told the 11th World Human Rights Cities Forum, hosted online by the National Commission on Human Rights and the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), on Friday.

Leading local figures play a key factor in improving or reducing the tolerance level in the community, Hasan said.

The SETARA Institute has determined three types of leaders who are key for improving regional tolerance—political, bureaucratic, and civil, he informed.

Local political leadership mostly comprises the mayor or their deputy, he said. They exert significant influence on tolerance promotion in their region by enacting government regulations, planning regional development, and assuring an inclusive regional administration, the research director explained.

“The SETARA Institute has set eight indicators to determine the index of regions’ tolerance level,” Hasan informed.

The eight indicators are regional development plans, anti-discrimination regulations, social statements, concrete actions on discrimination issues, social regulations, community dynamics, social inclusion level, and social and religious heterogeneity, he elaborated.

Hasan pointed out that in regions where the political leadership is absent, the regional bureaucracy leaders often take over the role of promoting tolerance by assuring tolerance in bureaucracy and administration function.

“Bureaucracy leadership in regions had shown promising breakthroughs to protect the region’s tolerance level in the situation when the political leadership neglected the role,” he observed.

The institute has also determined that the last type of regional leadership—civil leadership—also plays a significant role in improving tolerance, Hasan said.

“The civil leadership plays the role to ensure social regulation and inclusiveness persisting in their community,” he added.

Source: Antara News

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KPK open to collaborate with IM57+ Institute

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Vice Chairman Nurul Ghufron echoed the anti-graft body’s openness to collaborate with Indonesia Memanggil (Indonesia Calling) 57 Institute, or IM57+ Institute, formed by ex-KPK employees.

“If they really are committed to eradicating corruption, then the KPK is open to collaborate with any party,” Ghufron stated at the KPK Building here on Friday.

The KPK vice chairman asserted that the agency will continue to conduct duties to fight corruption in cooperation with all members of society.

Earlier, some 57 employees of the KPK were honorably discharged after reportedly failing in the civic knowledge test (TWK).

The 57 discharged KPK staff performed a long march from the KPK Main Office building in Rasuna Said Road, South Jakarta, to the KPK’s Anti-Corruption Learning Centre (ACLC) building, which is located 500 meters from the anti-graft headquarters on Thursday, September 30.

At the farewell, former KPK investigator M. Praswad Nugraha noted that the 57 former KPK staff will form the IM57+ Institute.

Nugraha is optimistic that the IM57+ Institute would function as a platform to contribute to efforts to eradicate corruption through monitoring, strategy, and anti-corruption education.

“The IM57+Institute will serve as our platform to unite and continue our struggle to eradicate corruption from this country,” he stated at the ACLC building.

The IM57+ Institute has an executive board comprising Hery Muryanto, former Deputy of Coordination and Supervision; Sujanarko, former Director of Job Network Mentorship between Commissions and Institutions; Novel Baswedan; Giri Suprapdiono, former Director of Anti-Corruption Dissemination and Campaign; and Chandra S.R., the former head of Human Resources.

In addition to the executive board, the IM57+ Institute has an investigation board, law and strategic research board, as well as education and training board.

Source: Antara News

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