Day: December 24, 2021

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Trade Ministry committed to supporting East Kalimantan’s exports

The Trade Ministry will continue to support East Kalimantan’s exports on account of the province’s diverse economic potential, the ministry’s Expert Staff on Market Security, Sutriono Edi, stated.

“The ministry will support East Kalimantan to boost exports, as their diverse potential in mining, agriculture, and fisheries will benefit the people’s economy,” Edi stated in Samarinda on Friday.

The expert staff opined that the province still needs to enhance the training program for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially for the digital marketing course.

“SMEs must be assisted not only for the production process but also in terms of digital management and marketing,” he noted.

Meanwhile, East Kalimantan deputy governor Hadi Mulyadi lauded the province’s SMEs that remain productive despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are proud of East Kalimantan’s creative, innovative, and enthusiastic SMEs that continue to be active despite the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mulyadi stated.

The deputy governor remarked that 10 SMEs contributed to the province’s exports this year, an increase from 2020 when only four SMEs exported their products.

“East Kalimantan also contributed Rp270 trillion (around US$18.9 billion) in exports, the second-highest in Indonesia,” Mulyadi noted.

He expressed optimism that more SMEs would contribute to increasing the province’s exports next year.

“Our exports will no longer depend on oil, gas, and coal,” the deputy governor stated.

Moreover, East Kalimantan’s Industry, Trade, Cooperatives, and SMEs Office Head HM Yadi Robyan Noor noted that encouraging SMEs to export their products is a concrete step in enhancing the exports of non-oil and gas commodities and partaking in the nation’s economic recovery.

“This means the East Kalimantan government’s measures are in line with the national policy to promote SMEs’ activities,” Noor stated.

The office head also highlighted that the advancement of East Kalimantan’s SMEs was consistent with the governor’s mission to achieve regional economic self-sufficiency and a fair economy for the people.

Some popular export commodities of East Kalimantan’s SMEs are salted fish, crackers, waste cooking oil, frozen shrimp, dammar gum, and banana, Noor stated.

Source: Antara News

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Travelers undergoing 14 checks upon entering Indonesia: police chief

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) – International travelers are undergoing 14 stages of checks while entering Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang city, Banten province, National Police chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, has informed.

“We carry out this direct inspection to assess the arrival procedures imposed on international travelers. They must undergo 14 stages from the arrival gate to the self-quarantine place,” he said while issuing a press statement at the airport on Friday.

Police will continue to evaluate and improve the stages to provide better services, including paying attention to inputs from the public, he added.

He then asked officers to optimize information technology utilization and improve synergy between stakeholders to ensure that all travelers conduct a 10-day quarantine and those arriving from countries with high COVID-19 transmission rates observe 14-day isolation.

“Thorough inspections must be carried out from the beginning of the stages. Surveillance at the quarantine sites must be conducted carefully so no travelers can leave the place before their isolation period ends,” the national police chief said.

The tightened supervision aims to anticipate more imported cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19, he explained.

According to the Health Ministry, eight Omicron cases have been confirmed in Indonesia as of December 23, 2021. Most of them are imported cases that have been detected in international travelers isolating at the Wisma Atlet COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC), Jakarta, it informed.

“Thus, we will improve the system to curb the transmission of the Omicron variant,” Prabowo said.

Furthermore, he asked the joint task force to implement strict supervision of the health protocols so that the self-quarantine process runs well. Violations of the quarantine regulations must be investigated and processed transparently, he added.

“Do not hesitate. It is for our common good,” he emphasized.

Source: Antara News

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BNPB explores opening quarantine facility in Surabaya

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has said it is exploring the possibility of opening a quarantine facility in Surabaya, East Java, to meet the need for isolation sites for international travelers.

To prevent the spread of Omicron, the government has issued a new quarantine regulation for travelers coming from abroad, BNPB’s primary secretary, Lilik Kurniawan, noted here on Friday.

According to the new regulation, Indonesian citizens arriving from overseas need to quarantine for ten days after taking an RT-PCR test, he said.

Indonesian citizens arriving from 11 countries—South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and Lesotho—have to undergo quarantine for 14 days, he added.

Indonesian migrant workers, students pursuing their studies abroad, and government employees returning from overseas’ duty can quarantine free of cost at Wisma Atlet, Jakarta, or isolation facilities provided by the government, he informed.

Citizens outside that category need to undergo quarantine at paid facilities, Kurniawan added.

However, quarantine hotels and facilities available for international travelers are not sufficient, and this situation recently led to a long queue of travelers waiting to enter a quarantine location, he noted.

This happened on Saturday at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten, because the quarantine facilities were not sufficient, he added.

Kurniawan did not provide further details on the plan for opening a quarantine facility in Surabaya.

BNPB’s head is currently visiting Surabaya to review the city’s quarantine service system, he informed.

“This is why BNPB’s head is heading there to see if the system that was built there is proceeding smoothly so there would no longer be any queue of travelers,” he added.

Source: Antara News

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Coordinating Minister reviews preparations for Christmas Mass

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, reviewed preparations for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass at the Jakarta Cathedral, Sawah Besar sub-district, Jakarta, on Friday.

“Since tomorrow is Christmas Day, I would like to know whether there is any obstacle to the implementation of the worship. I think everything has been going well so far,” he remarked.

He was received at the church by the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Jakarta (KAJ), Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo.

The coordinating minister and his entourage inspected the hall of the cathedral before the congregations started face-to-face worship for Christmas Eve Mass at 5.30 p.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB).

Christmas Day carries a message of peace and is a momentum to unite Indonesia’s diverse people, the minister said.

“We do not only want to build tolerance, but also acceptance — not only understand people’s diversity, but also collaborate to achieve common advancement,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo said that the 2021 Christmas message is ‘Christ’s Love Improves Brotherhood’.

“It is crucial to highlight the term ‘Improves’ in the message as we hope that the spirit of Christmas will inspire a movement to improve and nurture brotherhood,” he remarked.

The minister was accompanied by the Commander of the National Police’s Mobile Brigade Corps, Inspector General Anang Revandoko, deputy chief of Jayakarta Regional Military Command, Brigadier General Bobby Rinal Makmun, Central Jakarta Resort Police chief, Senior Commissioner Hengki Haryadi, and Central Jakarta Mayor Dhany Sukma during his visit.

The Religious Affairs Ministry has asked churches to hold Christmas worship activities in a mix of online and offline formats with strict health protocols through Circular Letter Number 33/2021.

The circular caps the number of people attending offline events at 50 percent of a room’s capacity.

Source: Antara News

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Religious Affairs Ministry issues circular on Christmas celebrations

The Religious Affairs Ministry has issued Circular Letter Number 33/2021 regarding the 2021 Christmas celebrations and worship, the ministry’s acting director general of Christian guidance, Pontus Sitorus, informed during a dialogue here on Friday.

“It aims to control the transmission of COVID-19 in churches or places which will be used as churches for the 2021 Christmas celebrations,” he said.

The circular requires that the activities be implemented under strict health protocols, he added.

“Churches need to establish COVID-19 handling and health protocol task forces. They must coordinate with the regional task forces,” the acting directorate general informed.

In addition, the implementation of worship should be carried out in a simple way, Sitorus said. It is recommended that worship activities be held in a mix of online and offline formats, he added.

The number of people attending offline events must not exceed 50 percent of a room’s capacity, he said.

Furthermore, churches have been allowed to remain open till 10 p.m. Western Standard Indonesia Time (WIB), he added.

Church administrators are required to implement the 5M health protocols – washing hands, wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, avoiding crowds, and reducing mobility, Sitorus said.

In addition, they must arrange thermometers, provide hand sanitizers or washbasins, carry out regular cleaning, and ask congregants to use the mobile contact-tracing app PeduliLindungi, he informed.

They must also provide extra medical masks for congregants and prohibit anyone who is ill from attending religious activities, he added.

“All rectors of religious high schools and heads of all Religious Affairs Offices must implement the regulation and carry out its socialization,” he stressed.

Earlier, the National Police also prohibited Christmas and New Year celebrations which can trigger crowds, in accordance with the Instruction of Home Affairs Minister Number 62/2021.

Source: Antara News

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