Day: January 7, 2022

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has urged Indonesian Muslims to unite and help strengthen the national economy at the family and community level to bring Indonesia on par with other major global economies.

Muslims must not only toil to perform religious rituals, but they must also not neglect their duty to boost their households’ economic conditions and livelihoods in their community, Amin said adding, the religion considers economic activity performed by Muslims for earning a living as a good deed.

“Allah the Almighty has said, through The Holy Quran, that if Muslims have completed their prayer obligation then they must disperse in the land to seek Allah’s bounty. We must also remember that eradicating poverty is our duty as well,” Amin said while delivering a sermon after the congregational Friday prayer at Al-Mujahidin Mosque within the Central Sulawesi Governor’s Office complex in Palu city on Friday.

“Even Prophet Muhammad said, as narrated by an authentic Hadith, that Muslims, particularly male Muslims, who are leaving their home to make a living for their wife, children, parents, and family members, are regarded to perform a good deed,” he added.

“But if they otherwise seek fortunes only for personal pride and to enrich themselves, then they are seeking the way of the Devil,” Amin remarked.

The Vice President warned that poverty would make Muslims physically and spiritually weak and easily swayed to commit heinous acts prohibited by Islam.

He also highlighted the necessity of innovation in all economic aspects to establish a resilient economy amidst fierce economic competition.

“The government is striving to empower the people’s economy and eradicate poverty to create Muslims who will be resilient in their economy,” Amin said.

Source: Antara News

State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir has said that his ministry will develop the production of herbal medicines to minimize medicine imports.

“We will support the development of the herbal sector. Our herbal medicines are very strong, but they have never been developed because we like to import medicines,” Thohir noted on Friday.

Indonesia has great potential in the herbal industry, given the fertile soil, water, and abundant sunlight, he said.

If Indonesia has a certified herbal industry, imports of raw materials for medicines can be suppressed, he explained.

“We will combine the strength of these two,” he affirmed.

Apart from encouraging the herbal industry, the SOEs Ministry is also working to integrate state-owned hospitals.

Many SOEs have their separate hospitals, including Pertamina, Pelindo, and PTPN, Thohir pointed out. He said his ministry is planning to combine these hospitals.

“That is why we have decided to combine them. There are 73 SOE hospitals with a total bed capacity of almost 7 thousand,” he informed.

Thohir said the plan to combine the SOEs hospitals into one ecosystem will help serve the needs of the middle and lower class.

“Because health services for the middle and lower classes are also important,” he emphasized.

The minister recently launched the Bali International Hospital, in partnership with the Mayo Clinic, which is expected to be the best cancer facility in the world.

The hospital is expected to serve people who usually travel to foreign countries to seek treatment, Thohir said. The SOEs ministry will also explore the possibility of developing other health economic zones in Sumatra and Sulawesi, he informed.

“Let us continue to build our economy. We must be more independent in order to reduce our dependence on other countries,” he reminded.

The development of the domestic industry will create job opportunities and business opportunities to optimize Indonesia’s natural resources for the nation’s economic growth, he said.

Source: Antara News

The Jakarta provincial authorities designated 14 buildings and places of interest in the province as cultural heritage sites in the 2020–2021 period, an official has said.

“The cultural heritage designation is our effort to protect cultural assets in Jakarta,” the Jakarta Cultural Office head Henry Wardhana said here on Friday.

The provincial authority observed Law No. 11 of 2010 about Cultural Heritage and sought expert opinion while assessing buildings proposed as cultural heritage, he informed.

Jakarta province’s cultural heritage expert team presided over the verification process, which involved surveys and assessments, literature research, and deliberations with the relevant stakeholders, the office head added.

“The finalization of the research report was done through multiple deliberations to ensure the final report has legal and scientific accountability,” Wardhana explained.

The office head said that according to the regulation, buildings proposed as cultural heritage need to meet the following eligibility criteria: they must have been standing for at least 50 years; represent a prevailing architectural style for at least 50 years; and have a cultural, scientific, religious, cultural, or political significance.

Of the 14 buildings accorded cultural heritage status in the city, buildings used for business purposes are the Bank Indonesia building and the Garuda Indonesia Head Office, both of which are located on Kebon Sirih Road, Central Jakarta, and the Tjipta Niaga building in Jakarta Old Town area, West Jakarta, Wardhana informed.

The Independence Proclamation House, Independence Proclamation Statue, Independence Proclamation Commemoration Statue, and Perintis Kemerdekaan building, all in Central Jakarta, have also obtained the cultural heritage tag, he said.

Meanwhile, the cultural heritage structures utilized for transportation purposes are Jatinegara Station and Matraman Raya railway bridge in East Jakarta, and Terowongan Tiga railway bridge, the office head added.

Other buildings that have been newly recognized as cultural heritage in Jakarta include Rawamangun golf course, Petukangan arsenal, Building 1, 2, and 3 of the State Film Production Company (PFN) complex, and Vincentius Girl Orphanage building complex, all of which are located in East Jakarta, he stated.

Source: Antara News

The enthusiasm of motorbike racing lovers over the implementation of the 2022 Mandalika MotoGP has been extraordinary, proven by premiere class tickets selling out in a day, Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) has said.

“(A total of) 900 premiere class tickets immediately sold out on the first day of ticket sales at 4:57 p.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB),” vice president director of MGPA, Cahyadi Wanda, said in a written statement released here on Friday.

MGPA is a subsidiary of the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), state-owned tourism developer and the organizer of the racing event at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, Central Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province.

The sales of 900 premiere class tickets, 2 thousand deluxe class tickets, and 21,056 premium grandstand tickets for the 2022 Mandalika MotoGP opened on January 6, 2021, Wanda said.

Holders of premier class tickets will get to watch the race from the second floor of the Pit Building and have access to the teams’ garage to see pit activities and interact with the racers, he informed.

Meanwhile, holders of deluxe class tickets will get seats in the VIP Village, which is adjacent to the paddock, he added.

The premium grandstand has been divided into four zones: Zone A is located at the start and finish line, Zone B at the first turn, Zone J at the fifteenth turn, and Zone K at the sixteenth turn, he said.

The MGPA vice president director assured that although the premiere class tickets have sold out, spectators can still watch the race by buying tickets of other categories.

“Whilst, general admission and standard grandstand ticket sales will start on January 11, 2022,” he informed.

Furthermore, he said that the organizers will also provide daily tickets for the general admission, standard grandstand, and premium grandstand categories.

On the first, second, and third day, tickets will be priced in the range of Rp115,000–Rp431,250; Rp287,500–Rp1,150,000; and Rp575,000–Rp1,725,000, respectively, he added.

In addition to daily tickets, MGPA has prepared weekend pass packages starting from Rp805 thousand to Rp2,587 thousand, he informed.

“Meanwhile, for the VIP Hospitality Suites category (premiere class and deluxe class), we are providing three days’ pass tickets for Rp10million–Rp15 million,” Wanda added.

Source: Antara News

The use of the Integrated Business Service Center (PLUT) must be optimized to develop micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and advance the community and regional economy, the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister said.

“We will make PLUT more effective to help MSMEs develop their business,” Teten Masduki informed here on Friday.

Through PLUT, MSMEs can gain access to financing, markets, and increase the competitiveness of their products, he explained.

According to Masduki, in almost all regions, MSMEs are facing the same problems concerning capital, product quality, marketing, production, and human resources.

“Many problems are faced by MSMEs, such as access to financing, product quality, as well as production technology, and distribution permit certification,” he noted.

Therefore, MSMEs throughout Indonesia need to be empowered to increase their contribution to the regional economy and the society’s welfare, the minister said.

“MSMEs need sustainable assistance,” Masduki remarked.

He accompanied Vice President Ma’ruf Amin on a working visit to Palu city, Central Sulawesi from January 6–7, 2022. One of the agendas of the visit was to review economic recovery and MSME empowerment in the city.

During the visit, Masduki accompanied Amin to an MSME exhibition at the Central Sulawesi Governor’s Office, in Palu city on Friday to review MSME products.

One MSME business owner from Palu city, Masdina Daud, told Amin and Masduki that among the obstacles he faced in developing his business was finding human resources.

“It is very important to have training for developing MSME products, but for several years there has been no training,” said Daud, who produces rattan handicrafts, which are among products with high economic value.

He said he was still producing handicrafts manually using tools, thus, his production was very limited.

“Our production per year is one thousand pieces, in the form of souvenir products, chairs, tables, and so on which are still processed manually,” he informed.

Daud said he hoped that the government would empower MSMEs by enabling access to machines for developing their products.

Source: Antara News

Revocation of 2,078 unproductive Mining Business Licenses (IUPs) will commence next Monday (Jan 10), Minister of Investment and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia stated at a press conference here on Friday.

“We have conducted technical coordination with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources until last night,” he remarked.

The government is currently reviewing 2,343 business permits, he noted. However, during the first stage, only 2,078 licenses will be revoked next Monday. The other 265 IUPs are still being verified.

These permits are being revoked, as these companies are inactive. Despite the fact that these companies possess the business license, including the Forest Area Utilization Permit (IPPKH), they do not produce anything.

Several companies possess the business permit and IPPKH though have not yet delivered their Budget and Expense Work Plan (RKAB).

“There are those who we give the license but ended up selling it to other people. This is no longer tolerable. We have to speak within the context of justice,” Lahadalia affirmed.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo stated that the government will revoke licenses of 2,078 mineral and coal mining corporations, as they do not deliver their work plan.

“Mining, forestry, and state land use permits will continue to be evaluated,” he remarked on Thursday.

“Permits that are not executed and not productive will be transferred to other parties. We will also revoke permits that are not in accordance with our regulations,” he affirmed.

The government also revoked 192 forestry sector permits covering an area of 3,126,439 hectares for inactivity, not making a work plan, and neglect.

Land title for industrial purposes (HGU) for 34,448 hectares of abandoned land had also been revoked.

Source: Antara News

Investment Minister and head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Bahlil Lahadalia, has assured that the ban on coal exports will not have a significant impact on Indonesia’s investment climate.

he said after a press conference here on Friday.

The policy to ban coal exports was adopted to fulfill the domestic market obligation (DMO) for coal, he explained. This effort will affect the flow of electricity in the country, he added.

“What if we do not fulfill our DMO? Which one is worse: we stop coal exports and we can have electricity, or we continue coal export but our electricity will go off?” he asked.

As a former businessman, he said he expects coal entrepreneurs to demonstrate nationalism.

“I will be honest, I am pro-investment. But I love my country more than business matters. If we do not stop exports, we will have no electricity,” he emphasized.

The minister urged coal companies to fulfill their DMO obligations. He said he has communicated with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources regarding the issue.

Lahadalia further said he believes that the government is also responsible for finding the best solution. The government is paying attention to the aspirations of other parties, including other countries, in this matter, he assured.

“I hope we can fulfill our domestic needs and we are also able to export our coal. Many countries have sent letters begging us not to ban exports, especially during winter. We are also responsible for the world’s interests. But, we will fulfill our domestic needs first and then we can export the remaining coal,” he disclosed.

As soon as domestic needs are met, Indonesia will be able to export coal again, he said.

“We will try to fulfill our domestic needs in the next few weeks. There is around 5–6 million supply of coal. We can export it (once the domestic needs are fulfilled),” he added.

Source: Antara News

State Electricity Company PT PLN’s Main Distribution Unit for Greater Jakarta built a special substation to supply 5.54 megavolt amperes (MVA) of electricity to the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

General Manager of PLN’s Main Distribution Unit for Greater Jakarta Doddy B. Pangaribuan spoke of having collaborated with PT Jakarta Propertindo, as executor of the JIS development project, to build a special distribution substation to supply electricity to the JIS stadium.

“With the establishment of this substation, the new icon of the capital city can operate optimally,” he noted in a statement received here on Friday.

Pangaribuan said his company and JakPro had established sound relations, so the coordination between them had run well.

Their collaboration began from the planning stage, all the way to energizing and testing lights and sound systems.

JIS used 1.4 MVA of temporary electricity from PLN for the period from 2019 to December-end of 2021, as a source of electricity during the construction period.

Temporary electricity is a service offered by the company to non-customers in need of electricity or to customers needing additional electricity within a certain period of time.

Moreover, PLN is also ready to provide a Renewable Energy Certificate for the stadium.

REC is an instrument that represents new and renewable energy attributes for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity produced by the State Electricity Company’s EBT generators.

By using REC, the JIS can prove that the energy being used did come from EBT-based power plants audited by the international ‘tracking’ system, APX TIGRs located in California, the United States.

“We strongly support the construction of JIS, of course, in accordance with our capacity as an electricity provider, which is to provide adequate supply of electricity, and of course, we are ready to maintain its reliability,” Pangaribuan added.

Source: Antara News