Day: March 27, 2022

The development of electric vehicles is part of a grand design for renewable energy transition that may offer Indonesia a solution to curb fuel oil imports and save state funds, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said.

He made the remarks while inaugurating the first ultra-fast charging station in Badung, Bali, on Friday, state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) said in a written statement released on Saturday.

The electric vehicle charging station is expected to support operational vehicles for G20 delegates when Bali hosts the G20 Summit later this year.

The head of state noted that the country’s dependence on fuel oils and fossil energy has increasingly become higher, while much of its domestic fuel oil needs are still imported.

“(This) burdens our state budget, current account deficit, and trade deficit,” he said.

Indonesia must not let the dependence on fossil energy to continue, so the country must find ways to create energy self-reliance, he added.

The use of electric vehicles during the G20 Summit is one of the ways to prove Indonesia’s commitment to conduct energy transition, he said.

“(Indonesia’s) G20 Presidency is a very good chance for us to show various commitments to the reduction of CO2 emissions,” he added.

It is also a chance for Indonesia to showcase its commitment to remain at the forefront in the development of electric vehicles, Widodo said.

“Right from the upstream industry, which produces batteries and other components to the downstream industry, which provides electric vehicle charging and home charging stations, we want to show the world that the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia is growing and developing rapidly,” he added.

Meanwhile, PLN president director Darmawan Prasodjo conveyed PLN’s preparedness to support the fuel oil-to-electric vehicle conversion program. The conversion program can reduce oil subsidies in the state budget, save foreign exchange, and create national energy self-reliance.

The program is also part of clean energy transition efforts for achieving the 2060 net-zero emissions target, he said.

According to PLN’s calculation, the program will potentially save Rp2,044 trillion in foreign exchange earnings the same year, he added.

“We stress that the electric vehicle ecosystem is not merely business-oriented but above all, the conversion will curb carbon emissions. This means that it offers an expectation of cleaner living space for our children and grandchildren,” he said.

To support the electric vehicle ecosystem, PLN is building additional electric vehicle charging stations in the country. By February 2022, the country had 267 electric vehicle charging stations in 195 different areas.

Of the total, PLN owns 120 electric vehicle charging stations in 92 areas.

Source: Antara News

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has called on Universitas Islam Malang (UNISMA) to take advantage of technology revolution to advance the institution.

“In the digital transformation era, being adaptive is mandatory. UNISMA should be able to take the opportunities offered by technology revolution and utilize them as engines in pursuit of the institution’s advancement,” Amin remarked during the UNISMA’s 41st anniversary held online here on Sunday.

He then urged the university to expand cooperation and collaboration with various stakeholders, both national and international.

During its 42 years of existence, UNISMA had gone through various challenges in every changing times, according to the vice president.

Amin lauded the university’s vision to become a world-class university.

To realize its vision, hard work, qualified education, quantity and quality of research, status or ranking are required in addition to having impacts both in the country and the world, he explained.

He expressed optimism that UNISMA could achieve its goal of being a world-class university since it had experienced to be the engine of Nahdlatul Ulama education for decades and had produced many Indonesian Muslim intellectuals.

“I hope that the entire academic community of UNISMA could fully support every step to achieve the vision,” he said.

Amin also urged the university to enhance its academic quality by not neglecting faith and piety as well as Pancasila values.

“Religious and national characters are actually needed to meet the challenges in the modern era. By mastering science and technology combined with faith, piety and Pancasila values, we can realize generations of Indonesian Muslims who are globally competitive,” he noted.

Source: Antara News

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has disbursed assistance to improve the production of Saline Tilapia Cultivation Village in Sedari Village, Karawang District, West Java Province.

According to the ministry’s official site, saline tilapia is a superior variety of tilapia which can live in brackish water.

“The production of saline tilapia in the village can reach more than 60 tons each hectare per year,” Director General of Aquaculture of the ministry Tb Haeru Rahayu said in a statement released here on Sunday.

He continued that several kinds of assistance had been handed to the village, including one excavator, five packages of pond irrigation management assistance, aid packages for aquaculture villages, as well as 400 thousand tilapia seeds.

He expected that the assistance could improve the productivity of the fishery ponds and encourage the surrounding community to involve in advancing the cultivation village.

“I believe that the development of fishery cultivation site in Sedari Village can make the aquaculture activity more organized and productive,” the director general remarked.

He said saline tilapia has been chosen as the commodity to be developed in the village since it has high economic value and resistance to disease.

“Our Karawang Aquaculture Production Service Center (BLUPPB) can provide quality saline tilapia seeds from superior parents at affordable prices,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Acting Head of the Fisheries Office of Karawang District Abu Bukhori stated that the development of saline tilapia cultivation in the district has become very promising since the government had restricted the implementation of floating net cage fishery cultivation in Jatiluhur Dam in, Purwakarta District, West Java .

“Through the development of the aquaculture village, we hope that the potentials for 18 thousand-hectare ponds in Karawang District can be utilized optimally, thus we can improve the cultivation production and farmers welfare,” he continued.

Meanwhile, the prepared area for saline tilapia cultivation in Sedari Village reaches 250 hectares with an average pond,acreage of 2-7 hectares.

A total of 10 fish cultivation groups which consist of 105 cultivators of Sedari Village are estimated to be able to produce 62.5 tons of saline tilapia with a production value of Rp1.125 billion per month.

Source: Antara News

State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir has called on Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) to redevelop Indonesia’s halal industry.

Indonesia has the country’s largest ever sharia bank called BSI now, according to him.

“We encourage this BSI to rebuild the halal industry in Indonesia so that it can become a player to serve not only our people in Indonesia, but also serve other people in the world,” Erick Thohir said in Palembang, South Sumatra, Sunday.

Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, is the fourth largest in halal industry and economic in the world.

However, when it comes to halal industrial production, Indonesia is not in the top 5 nor the top 10. This means that Indonesia is only a consumptive nation, not a productive nation, according to the minister.

Minister Erick Thohir earlier lauded the BSI Entrepreneurial Talent program launched by BSI and hoped that the program could create Muslimpreneurs in Indonesia.

The number of entrepreneurs in Indonesia reached 3.5 percent , while it should have been 10-14 percent , he said.

The minister also emphasized assistance to MSMEs in three areas, namely financing, mentoring and market access.

Previously, SOE Minister Erick Thohir hoped that the BSI Entrepreneurial Talent program launched by BSI could create Muslimpreneurs in Indonesia.

Erick Thohir really appreciated when BSI launched the program.

According to Erick, when compared to developed countries, it can reach 10-14 percent of the number of entrepreneurs, but in Indonesia alone the number is still 3.5 percent.

Regarding assistance to MSMEs, Erick said that the context was in three areas, namely financing, mentoring and market access.

Source: Antara News