Day: January 4, 2022

Posted on

Jakarta implementing 100-percent PTM despite rise in PPKM level

The Jakarta provincial government is continuing to implement 100-percent face-to-face learning (PTM) despite the status of Jakarta’s public activity restriction (PPKM) increasing from Level 1 to Level 2.

“Face-to-face learning is still being implemented. Thus far, there has been no policy to stop it,” head of the public relations sub-division at the Jakarta Education Office, Taga Radja Gah, told ANTARA here on Tuesday.

The office will still consider and review every condition related to 100-percent PTM at schools, he stressed.

The actions that will be carried out will be based on reports from regions in Jakarta that are conducting face-to-face learning, he said.

“If we conduct a review or analysis every day, it would require continuing gathering data on the field. To this end, we have instructed headmasters to do this,” he elaborated.

“Every school that carries out face-to-face learning must report everyday conditions, such as whether there are sick people or people who do not attend learning, on the system,” he said.

Jakarta’s PPKM level has been raised based on the Home Affairs Ministerial Instruction No. 1 of 2022 on PPKM Level 3, Level 2, Level COVID-19 in Java and Bali.

The PPKM level of Jakarta, along with a number of other cities, has been raised on account of a recent increase in COVID-19 infections.

There are a number of restrictions that the Jakarta provincial government has imposed in a number of sectors in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

For learning activities, the government has allowed both face-to-face and online learning.

Meanwhile, the decision to hold 100-percent face-to-face learning refers to the Four Ministries Joint Decree (SKB) on Learning Activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic Guide.

The joint degree allows regions with Level 1 and 2 public activity restrictions (PPKM) to implement 100-percent face-to-face learning.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

IBF opens, to prepare players for FIBA Asia Cup

The Indonesian Basketball Festival (IBF), a series of championships for preparing athletes for the FIBA Asia Cup from July 12–24, 2022, was officially launched by its organizers on Tuesday.

The goal of IBF is not only to find young talents but also to encourage and promote basketball throughout the regions, as Indonesia will hold the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 soon, FIBA Asia Cup acting chairman Junas Miradiarsyah said here on Tuesday.

“The IBF is a series (of matches that will serve as preparation) towards the FIBA Asia Cup. Hopefully, basketball can be promoted through this event. Although the FIBA Asia Cup takes place in Jakarta, the echo of basketball is all over Indonesia,” Miradiarsyah remarked.

“We also look forward to fostering the potential of future young basketball players,” he added.

The Indonesian Basketball Festival, which will feature athletes in the 19–22 age group, will be held in five cities. The first series will be held in Mimika, Papua, from January 7–11, and then in Bali, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta, the official said.

The five cities were selected based on several considerations, one of which was the number of potential players, Miradiarsyah informed.

“There are so many cities that have the potential, but because of some factors like time and efficiency, we selected (the five cities) based on their potential players,” he explained.

“Mimika, Bali, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta are the cities that contribute a lot of players. This is not for the national team, but if we look at the league itself, there are many players who have originated from these cities,” he said.

Given the increasing number of Omicron cases, he affirmed that his team is cooperating with the local government on the supervision of COVID-19.

“So far, everything is still on track. But if something happens, we have prepared anticipation, meaning that the implementation will continue, but the mechanism will be adjusted,” he said.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

Indonesia receives 3.5 million AstraZeneca vaccines under COVAX scheme

The Indonesian government has obtained more than 3.5 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses under the COVAX facility in two stages on January 3–4, 2022, a Health Ministry official has said.

“The effort to obtain vaccines through the bilateral route has been pursued by the Indonesian government through its Foreign Affairs Ministry since the beginning of the pandemic,” vaccination spokesperson at the ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said.

In a press statement issued here on Tuesday, she said that the total donation of 3,566,400 AstraZeneca vaccines was divided into two stages: vaccines under the 188th stage arrived on Monday and those under the 189th stage were scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Indonesia has actively conducted international and multilateral cooperation, including through the WHO Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator COVAX Facility.

COVAX, or COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, is a global initiative for realizing equal COVID-19 vaccine access for all citizens of the world.

As part of this effort, Indonesia has received a commitment from COVAX to fulfill half of Indonesia’s vaccine needs, Tarmizi informed.

Indonesia has continued to actively campaign for global vaccine equity, including at COVAX, Tarmizi added.

Collaboration between the nations of the world is very crucial in efforts to handle COVID-19, which has claimed a lot of lives, she said.

“Vaccination is one of the keys to protect ourselves and the nation from the threat of COVID-19,” she remarked.

The achievement of herd immunity in Indonesia could bolster the nation’s capability to break free from the pandemic that has prevailed for almost two years, she said.

“The vaccination program has been in progress for almost a year and we are now on the right path by continuing to secure vaccine stocks for the needs of the Indonesian people,” she added.

According to Tarmizi, every vaccine that arrives in Indonesia is promptly distributed to regions that require vaccine stocks.

So far, Indonesia has exceeded WHO’s target for vaccination, she pointed out. Still, there are several regions where vaccinations need to be optimized, she noted.

The central government is encouraging regions with low vaccination coverage or regions that have not reached their target to make extra effort to increase vaccinations, including by edifying and encouraging people who are still hesitant to get vaccinated, Tarmizi said.

“Especially for the elderly, who are included in the vulnerable and high-risk category,” she noted.

In January 2022, Indonesia should bolster vaccination efforts for its target population, including the booster shot that will be prioritized for health workers and the elderly, she said.

“Vaccination for children aged 6–11 years that have started since December 2021 will also be increased to protect children,” she added.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

Legislator lauds President’s stance on sexual violence prevention bill

Chairperson of the parliamentary working committee for the Sexual Violence Prevention Bill, Willy Aditya, has lauded President Joko Widodo’s supportive stance on necessary measures for addressing the issue of sexual violence in the country.

The President has also instructed Minister of Law and Human Rights and the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection to coordinate and consult the parliament to expedite the ratification of the bill,” Aditya, a legislator at the House of Representatives (DPR RI), said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The chairperson confirmed that the bill is ready to be designated as a legislature-initiated bill prior to its ratification in the next DPR RI plenary session.

Responding to the President’s instruction to his ministers, he affirmed that the parliamentary working committee is ready to welcome working teams from the ministries to expedite the ratification of the sexual violence prevention bill.

“We need to expedite the bill’s progress because the bill has earlier passed arduous debates and deliberations in the working committee. I believe coordination with government ministries can further expedite the bill’s passage,” Aditya said.

He further said he is convinced that the President’s encouragement for the swift passage of the bill is motivated by his determination to protect sexual violence victims, particularly at a time when sexual violence cases in the country are showing an alarming increase.

“I believe the President has understood the urgency of this bill, hence his instruction to the ministers. The Presidential press statement today boosted our efforts for protecting sexual violence victims,” the working committee head noted.

Widodo’s stance must also embolden the determination of the government, the parliament, and the public in assuring the bill’s progress and protecting sexual violence victims, he added.

Aditya expressed the hope that President Widodo’s remarks will be a watershed moment in the national mission for protecting sexual violence victims and the ratification of the sexual violence prevention bill.

Earlier, President Widodo had instructed his ministers to assist the DPR RI in expediting the ratification of the sexual violence prevention bill after the parliament failed to ratify the bill during the last plenary session on December 16, 2021.

“I have also instructed the government’s task force for the sexual violence prevention bill to inventory any issues regarding the bill,” the President said in a video uploaded by the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The President expressed the hope that assistance from the government task force would expedite the bill’s passage.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

Health protocol compliance can boost economic revival: Uno

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, has said that compliance with the health protocols can bolster national economic revival and generate jobs.

“Let us show a breakthrough that can touch every line of people’s lives and re-boost the people’s economy. We have to understand the needs of the people because these two years, they have been economically pressured,” Uno remarked during an ANTARA talk show here on Tuesday.

On January 1, 2022, several tourist destinations in Jakarta such as Bunderan HI, Ancol Dreamland, and Ragunan Zoo implemented health protocols, such as limitations on visitor capacity and operating hours, online ticket sales, and the use of the PeduliLindungi application in some spots for visitor check-ins, he noted.

He then invited people to help control the pandemic to avoid further transmission of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus that has been detected in Indonesia.

“Fortunately, we have almost reached herd immunity as 80 percent of the people already have the immunity, based on a government survey,” he said.

Several international events will be held in the country this year: G20, MotoGP, World Tourism Day, and Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, he noted.

On average, these events will bring six to seven thousand tourists, he said adding that his ministry is targeting all of them to offer CHSE-certified services.

He then pointed out some of the ministry’s achievements in 2021, such as providing better guidance to tourists, destination managers, officers, and the community in tourism villages for complying with the health protocols and meeting CHSE standards.

Moreover, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy set up 113 vaccine centers for hundreds of thousands of users, he highlighted.

“If we can control the pandemic, we can revive,” Uno remarked.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

President pushes ratification of sexual violence bill

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has sought the acceleration of the ratification of the sexual violence prevention bill (RUU TPKS) in the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR).

“I have also asked the government task force that handles the sexual violence bill to immediately prepare the problem inventory list (DIM) for the draft bill that is being prepared by the Indonesian House of Representatives,” the President said in a video broadcast on Tuesday.

The House did not approve the sexual violence bill as a DPR initiative during the plenary session at the close of the second session on December 16, 2021, he noted.

“So that the joint discussion process can be faster, go into the main points of substance to provide legal certainty and guarantee protection for victims of sexual violence,” the President advised.

The goal is that victims of sexual violence get protection, he explained.

“I hope that the sexual violence bill can be passed soon, so as to provide maximum protection to victims of sexual violence in the country,” the President said.

The initial draft of the bill contains 11 chapters comprising 40 articles, he informed. Chapter I contains General Provisions, and the issue of sexual violence is regulated in Chapter II, he said.

Four forms of sexual violence are regulated in the latest draft of the sexual violence bill: sexual harassment (physical and non-physical), forced contraception, forced sexual intercourse, and sexual exploitation, he said.

Before being christened the sexual violence prevention bill, the bill was called the elimination of sexual violence bill, but its name was changed by the House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg) in September 2021.

Earlier, the Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) reported that it had received 4,500 complaints pertaining to violence against women in the January–October period last year. The number had doubled compared to 2020, it said.

According to Komnas Perempuan, sexual violence has become an urgent issue not only due to the increasing number of sexual violence but also the inadequate handling capacity in all regions.

Meanwhile, based on data collected by the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, cases of violence against children reached 11,057 in 2019, 11,279 in 2020, and 12,566 as of November 2021.

Among children, the most common form of violence experienced was sexual violence (45 percent), psychological violence (19 percent), and physical violence (18 percent).

Meanwhile, cases of violence against women also registered an increase, the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry noted. In the last three years, 26,200 cases of violence against women were registered in the country, it said.

In 2019, there were around 8,800 cases of violence against women, then in 2020, the number fell to 8,600 cases, it noted.

From January to November 2021, around 8,800 cases of violence against women were reported in the country, it informed.

Women mostly experienced physical violence (39 percent), psychological violence (29.8 percent), and sexual violence (11.33 percent), it added.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

Domestic burden biggest hurdle to women’s political participation:

Domestic responsibilities and social constructs are the biggest hurdles to improving women’s participation in politics, a researcher at the University of Indonesia’s Politics Review Center (Puskapol UI), Beni Telaumbanua, has said.

“Women encounter a domestic challenge in the form of their responsibility as a wife or a mother,” he noted at a webinar on ‘Ensuring Women’s Participation in the General Election’, streamed live on YouTube here on Tuesday.

Telaumbanua recalled his experience during the She Leads activity that aimed to guide the capacity development of prospective women candidates who wanted to become members of the General Election Commission (KPU) or General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu.

During that time, he said that many women were unable to attend after deciding to register as KPU and Bawaslu members.

There were three primary reasons why the women were unable to attend, he pointed out.

These reasons were: they had a responsibility as a commissioner in a region, they were sick, and domestic challenges in the form of their responsibility toward their families, children, and parents, he informed.

Domestic challenges were the most frequently cited reason out of these three, he said.

“This made them unable to attend and participate in the selection,” Telaumbanua added.

In addition to social constructs and domestic challenges, he also highlighted three other hurdles: difficulty in identifying and ensnaring potential candidates, gaps within the regulation and women failing the selection process, as well as political interests that undermine the issue of women representation.

The last hurdle occurred quite frequently, especially during the fit and proper exam in the House of Representation (DPR), he elaborated.

To this end, Puskapol UI held She Leads as one of the strategies to encourage and ensure women’s participation in the general election organizer institution, he said.

It especially aims to bolster women’s capacity and provide guidance to prepare women to go through the selection process and participate in organizing elections, he added.

 

Source: Antara News

Posted on

House Speaker calls for free booster vaccines

House Speaker Puan Maharani has expressed the hope that COVID-19 booster vaccines will be provided to the community free of charge.

“The House of Representatives provides full support to the implementation of the COVID-19 booster vaccine program,” Maharani said here on Tuesday.

The booster vaccination program for adults is targeted to begin on January 12, 2022, she noted.

Currently, the government is still waiting for the results of research conducted by the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI), she said. In this case, the safety of the community is a crucial thing, she added.

“The government must ensure the safety of the people. Therefore, booster vaccines need to be free for citizens, especially low income people,” she explained.

Nevertheless, the government should prepare other options based on the country’s capabilities, Maharani said.

If the economy still cannot cover the booster vaccine program, the government can create a paid booster vaccine program for the upper-middle class, she said.

“However, the main principle is that booster vaccines must be free because vaccines are the people’s basic need that is the state’s responsibility,” she added.

The booster vaccine program will prioritize elderly participants of state-owned Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), both PBI participants and non-PBI (fund assistance recipients), she informed.

The House of Representatives also hopes that the government will pay attention to the data on BPJS Kesehatan’s PBI participants, considering that it is very difficult for this group to get access to health services, Maharani said.

“Make sure all people who are poor are included in the list, both the elderly and the general group. Thus, they can get health services without worrying about the cost,” she added.

Furthermore, Maharani underlined a study conducted by researchers from Copenhagen University, Statistics Denmark, and Statens Serum Institut (SSI), which found that the Omicron variant spreads faster than the Delta variant because it has a high ability to evade the immunity of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Therefore, she said she hoped that the booster vaccination program will be completed soon.

 

Source: Antara News

Proudly powered by WordPress