Year: 2021

The use of technology and access to digitalization among the elderly population in Indonesia is still relatively low, according to the Communication and Informatics Ministry.

At least 202.7 million people or 73 percent of Indonesian citizens have access to the Internet, the ministry’s Director General of Information Application Samuel A. Pangerapan said at a webinar, accessed online from here on Thursday.

However, Internet use among the elderly is still low and is dominated by young people, according to him.

The number of elderly people aged 50 years and over who can access and use the Internet is just 8.83 percent, Pangerapan pointed out.

He also cited data from the World Bank, which has shown that younger people actively access education digitally compared to older people with lower education levels.

Many elderly people in Indonesia face risks in using digital technology, such as exposure to fraud or hoaxes from sources with questionable or no credibility, Pangerapan informed.

“In addition, if we talk to the data center, it shows that the level of technology and Internet use of the elderly population is still low. Especially for the elderly in rural areas,” he elaborated.

Meanwhile, Senior Assistant Professor from the University of Brunei Darussalam, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, said that not being educated enough did not mean that the elderly could not get involved in the digital world.

“To enter (the digital world), they must be assisted by technology, so that they can participate more actively in life in this technological era,” Arifin opined.

She cited the use of communication and information technology, such as mobile phones, among the elderly as an example. As many as 54.3 percent of elderly men use it compared to 39.7 percent of elderly women, she noted.

That percentage is higher compared to people with disabilities (23.9 percent) and non-disabled people (50.8 percent), Arifin highlighted.

This shows that the use of mobile phones among elderly people is also quite equivalent to countries in the Asia-Pacific such as Hong Kong, Macau, Georgia, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Pakistan, and Japan, she opined.

Yet, in terms of the Internet use in Indonesia, it is still in a far lower position due to the relatively low number of Internet users, she said.

“But regarding the use of computers, there are slight differences. We are still low compared to other countries, and in terms of Internet usage, it is also still quite low,” she informed.

The elderly have the potential to participate in the transformation in the rapidly developing digital world, given the large number of elderly people who can use mobile phones, Arifin said.

She further said that she expected this potential to be increased optimally so that the elderly can utilize technology better.

“Elderly people have potential. They are deemed as a burden because we don’t try to maximize, optimize their potential. Let’s unite/include those who are not yet connected,” she remarked.

Source: Antara News

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has said that an independent national energy industry is an important basis for energy sovereignty.

“In all sectors including the energy sector, our dependence on imported products must be suppressed as much as possible. In accordance with the President’s directive, an independent national energy industry is an important foundation for energy sovereignty,” he said in a written statement received here on Thursday.

The minister lauded the President’s decision to continuously push and encourage Indonesia to process raw materials into finished products. The national palm oil sector is an example — Indonesia no longer imports raw materials, but processes them into finished materials instead, he said.

“With the better quality of human resources supported by adequate infrastructure, it serves as a momentum for us to be able to manage ready-to-use industries,” he said.

The minister accompanied President Joko Widodo to the inauguration of a biodiesel factory in Tanah Bumbu district, South Kalimantan province, on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, the President highlighted the importance of the inauguration of PT Jhonlin Agro Raya’s factory towards building national energy security. He urged Indonesia to reduce fuel imports by utilizing alternative energy, saying it also serves as an important foundation for national energy security.

Thohir said he supported this notion and highlighted that the use of alternative energy, such as biodiesel, is the government’s focus.

According to President Widodo, domestic biodiesel production would reduce imports and cut foreign exchange by Rp56 trillion (almost US$4 billion) in 2021.

Expediting the development of the biodiesel industry is a strategic choice to increase national energy security and reduce the large trade balance deficit due to diesel imports in the future, he explained.

Indonesia produces abundant crude palm oil that can be used to make biodiesel, he noted. According to the President, the potential for crude palm oil production in Indonesia has reached 52 million tons per year.

He said he expected the resource to be processed into other products, including biodiesel. Thus, Indonesia can lower fuel imports and help to boost energy security, he remarked.

Suppliers and other industries will also be required in the process of transforming crude palm oil into biodiesel, thereby increasing the possibility to create several new jobs, he pointed out.

Job creation in the downstreaming of natural resources is an important goal that can offer economic benefits to the community, the President said.

Source: Antara News

Communications and Informatics Minister Johnny Gerard Plate confirmed on Thursday that every 4G and 5G device had to meet the 35-percent requirement for local content (TKDN), a five-percent increase from the earlier regulation.

“It is one of the requirements to get the equipment certificate issued by the ministry before the device is allowed to be sold in Indonesia,” the minister stated at a virtual press conference.

Plate informed that the policy was in accordance with the Communication and Informatics Minister’s Regulation Number 13 of 2021 issued on October 12, 2021, on Technical Standards for 4G and 5G Subscriber Station Telecommunication Equipment and/or Mobile Cellular Telecommunication Device.

In addition, it regulates the 4G and 5G base station devices that work in the spectrum bands of 850 megahertz (MHz), 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2.1 gigahertz (GHz), and 2.3 GHz.

Furthermore, in determining the TKDN value, the ministry had received the Industry Ministry’s suggestion that resulted from consultations held with the telecommunications equipment vendors.

Plate expects the policy to be able to encourage growth of the domestic telecommunications device industry, thereby contributing more to the development of 4G- and 5G-based communication technology infrastructure in Indonesia.

“The regulation is a form of real support for the domestic production of 4G and 5G telecommunications components and equipment,” he affirmed.

The minister noted that the rule also aligned with President Joko Widodo’s directives to make Indonesia a smart player in the development of 4G and 5G networks.

The regulation will come into effect six months after its date of issuance.

“Thus, we expect telecommunications equipment vendors to immediately adapt to the new rule within the given amount of time,” he added.

Source: Antara News

The Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) has said that it hopes Gaikindo 2021 Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) will become a mark of the nation’s economic revival from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This exhibition becomes a very important event for Indonesia. It is a sign of the economic revival after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gaikindo chairman Yohannes Nangoi said here on Thursday.

Nangoi said he is optimistic that GIIAS 2021 will be a driving factor to achieve the goals of the national automotive industry, both in maximizing domestic achievements and being the country’s highest foreign exchange contributor through exports.

According to him, one of the supports provided by the government to the country’s automotive industry is the luxury sales tax incentive program on Luxury Goods Borne by the Government (PPnBM DPT).

The program has succeeded in bolstering the industry that had slumped last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he explained.

“We had a decline in April and May 2020 when we only sold 5 thousand units per month. This year, after the (COVID-19 cases spike) in June and July, our sales in August-September have returned to 85 thousand units (per month). It is incredible,” he said.

Nangoi further said that he hopes this year’s edition of GIIAS will encourage the improvement of the Indonesian automotive industry.

GIIAS 2021 will continue to bring the latest technological innovations from the automotive world. To guarantee this, Gaikindo has received support from its members who are also participating in the event, he informed.

“The various products and technologies on display are one of the achievement proofs of the Indonesian automotive industry. We should be proud,” Nangoi remarked.

GIIAS 2021 will be held from November 11-21, 2021 at ICE (Indonesia Convention Exhibition), BSD city, Tangerang. The exhibition will be held in the physical format under the implementation of strict health protocols.

Twenty-four vehicle brands will join the exhibition, including those who manufacture both passenger and commercial cars.

GIIAS 2021 admission tickets will only be available on the GIIAS Auto360 application. The visitors will be grouped into three sessions each day to ensure there is no crowding in the exhibition area.

Source: Antara News

The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) has been heedful of the rice farmers’ aspirations in West Pasaman, West Sumatra, in accelerating biofortified rice production that is one of President Joko Widodo’s national priority programs.

“We have directly heard the complaints and inputs from farmers. These inputs certainly help the government to formulate and review policies implemented on the field,” Deputy III of the Presidential Staff Office Panutan Sulendrakusuma said in a press release here on Thursday.

Sulendrakusuma observed that five farming groups managed 100 hectares of biofortified rice land in West Pasaman. The seed planting has already begun in September, and the harvest season is expected to start next December.

The rice biofortification development and planting program in West Pasaman was welcomed by farmers.

Sulendrakusuma explained that biofortified rice had a high nutritional content, so it can help overcome iron deficiency among members of the community.

“Half of the biofortified rice production will be consumed, and the rest will be sold,” one of the farmers, Hariadi, noted.

Hariadi is optimistic of the government facilitating and improving the irrigation system around his rice fields, so that in future, the harvest can occur thrice a year.

“Farmers also need agricultural machinery, such as transplanters, to reduce planting costs by 60 percent,” he stated.

Biofortified rice cultivation, or “Inpari IR Nutri Zinc,” has been conducted since 2020 in some regions, with a high prevalence of stunting among toddlers.

This year, the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has targeted the cultivation of biofortified rice to expand to 46 hectares across 26 provinces.

The cultivation of rice varieties that contain mineral sources or Zinc (Zn) is a breakthrough in overcoming childhood stunting in Indonesia.

With zinc nutrition reaching 34.51 ppm, biofortified rice is claimed to be able to optimize the growth of children in terms of their height and weight.

Source: Antara News