Day: June 2, 2022

Chairman of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), Yandri Susanto, has emphasized that the government will prioritize the elderly for Hajj next year if Saudi Arabia places no age restrictions.

” Insyaa Allah (God’s willing), if there is no age restriction, DPR and the government agree to prioritize the elderly to depart for Hajj next year,” Susanto remarked during a working meeting with the Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas here on Thursday.

For this year’s Hajj, the Saudi Arabian government announced an age limit of 65 years for pilgrims. Indonesia’s quota was one-tenth of the total Hajj candidates in 2022, that is, 100,051. The quota comprised 92,825 regular Hajj and 7,226 special Hajj spots.

Susanto said the decision to impose an age limit was taken by Saudi Arabia while the Indonesian government only complied with applicable regulations. But in society, there are still misconceptions about the age limit, he noted.

“I went to an event yesterday and someone said to me that the minister had limited the age to 65 years old for Hajj pilgrims. His mother had to wait for decades and had completed the payment but he said because of Minister Qoumas, his mother failed to leave,” he recalled.

Therefore, he urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs to be more active in socializing the Hajj requirements to the public.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs must also improve communication to avoid misunderstandings. The Saudi Arabian government is still imposing age restrictions for Hajj pilgrims due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy has not come from the Indonesian government, Susanto emphasized.

“There is still missing information and it is spreading in the public. Therefore, field socialization and education regarding Hajj implementation needs to be improved,” he added.

Source: Antara News

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin affirmed that Indonesia had cut its dependence on the import of Povidone Iodine as a raw material for antiseptic wound cleansing fluid for domestic needs.

“We used to 100 percent import that raw material. However, now, we can purchase it in our domestic market,” Sadikin remarked after inaugurating the factory for raw materials for Povidone Iodine in Cikarang, West Java, on Thursday.

He noted that PT Kimia Farma Sungwun Pharmachopia Delta Silicone 1 Lippo Cikarang in West Java was able to produce the raw material for antiseptic wound cleansing.

The Povidone Iodine came from one of the mines owned by PT Kimia Farma in the East Java area to be produced for domestic consumers in Cikarang, West Java.

According to Sadikin, the import of medicinal raw materials had only benefited the overseas economic sector since it absorbed workforces in countries that produced the raw materials.

He analogized the import of Povidone Iodine to the production of nickel mining processed into steel.

“This is similar to nickel being turned into steel. Nickel is imported from Indonesia, being processed in another country and then returning to Indonesia in the form of steel. It is the other country that receives the added value. The labor is also absorbed outside,” he pointed out.

The Health Ministry lauded PT Kimia Farma that has contributed to building domestic health resilience by utilizing domestic raw materials into finished products domestically.

At the same event, President Director of PT Kimia Farma Honesti Basyir remarked that Povidone Iodine is part of the roadmap for the production of 24 domestic medicinal raw materials. A total of 12 of them have been produced, obtained certification, and declared halal.

These raw materials include Clopidogrel, Atorvastatin, Simvastatin, Atorvastatin, Clopidogrel, Efavirenz, and Entekavir.

“If Indonesia is now still importing more than 90 percent, PT Kimia Farma can reduce dependence on medicinal raw materials by up to 20 percent, with a target road map until 2026,” Basyir remarked.

Source: Antara News

The law must adapt to current dynamics and serve as a vehicle to maintain interpersonal, individual relations with the state, prevent abuse of power by authorities, and resolve disputes, the Law and Human Rights Ministry said.

“In the context of the law, it must be adaptive to the dynamics of this era, so the government is preparing a Draft Law (RUU) for the Criminal Code (KUHP), which is expected to be completed and ratified this year,” Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights, Edward Omar Sharif Hiarej, said while giving a public lecture at the Faculty of Law, University of Jember, East Java, on Thursday.

The lecture themed “Criminal Law Reform in Indonesia” was attended by the rector, vice rector, dean, and deputy dean of the Faculty of Law, lecturers, and students at the Multipurpose Building of the Faculty of Law, University of Jember.

According to Hiarej, the legal system in Indonesia has always been connected to other systems, such as religious, social, economic, customs, and political systems; thus, it is not easy to formulate a Draft Criminal Code, especially in Indonesia, which encompasses a variety of beliefs, ethnic groups, and cultures.

“There will always be (different) interests in the process. Take the Netherlands, for example, which was only able to complete the Criminal Code after 70 years, even though the Netherlands is a relatively homogeneous country in terms of religion, society, economy, customs, and politics,” he pointed out.

Legal studies are quite broad: their scope includes babies that are still in the womb to people who have died, all of whom are regulated by law, and the law is also an open system created from other subsystems, he said.

“The law is also related to other systems such as religion, social, economic, and political. We realize that if there is controversy during the process of making the Draft of the Criminal Code Bill, it is normal since it is impossible for the Criminal Code Bill to satisfy (everyone),” he added.

He gave the example of an Article discussing blasphemy in the Criminal Code Bill, which received criticism from some people. In other countries, such as the Netherlands, acts of blasphemy are also covered in regulations.

“Initially, the Netherlands abolished the blasphemy article, but in 1983 it was reinstated after a persecution against certain religious groups and minorities in the Netherlands happened,” he informed.

As for customary law or “the Living Law” in the Draft Criminal Code, many have criticized the Article on customary law arising from Indonesia’s multi-ethnic identity, which is still followed by many people, such as in Bali and Papua.

“However, that does not mean that we will re-enact the customary courts. Customary law will also become the last resort if there are no criminal articles which regulate (the matter), and even then, (it would be conducted) through the existing state courts,” Hiarej clarified.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia has a strategic role given its location in one of the most important international shipping lanes connecting Asian countries with major regions of the world, an official from the Transportation Ministry has said.

“Indonesia, along with the littoral states (Malaysia and Singapore), maintains the safety, security, and maritime environment along the Malacca Straits and Singapore Straits,” head of the Transportation Human Resources Development Agency of the ministry, Djoko Sasono, said, according to a press release issued here on Thursday.

He made the statement during a lecture at the ministry’s Jakarta School of Maritime Transportation (STIP) on “Challenge and Opportunity in Sea Transportation Industry,” which also featured Danish Ambassador to Indonesia, Lars Bo Larsen, and director of Maersk Indonesia, Ery Hardianto, as speakers.

The ministry’s official emphasized that preparing competent and quality human resources is very important to realize the government’s vision of making Indonesia the world’s maritime axis.

It is a strategic policy, considering that Indonesia is one of the largest maritime countries in the world comprising more than 17 thousand islands and a maritime area that is equal to two-thirds of the country’s total territory.

“Competitive and quality human resources cannot be produced without superior education and training institutions,” Sasono remarked.

Head of STIP, Captain Sudiono, said the lecture was the Transportation Ministry’s attempt to improve the knowledge of the school’s undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as the participants of the ministry’s Double Degree Scholarship Program regarding the maritime and shipping industry in developed countries.

The scholarship program was offered in collaboration with the Indonesian Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) and Dutch Rotterdam University.

During the lecture, the Danish Ambassador to Indonesia highlighted the role of the shipping industry in supporting global trade and driving economic growth.

He said that like Indonesia, Denmark, as a maritime country, has set a green transition target to tackle climate change.

“Indonesia can play a role in the global energy transition through Indonesia’s 2022 G20 Presidency, including encouraging global (green transition) mechanisms, providing decarbonization (mechanism), (establishing) green maritime centers, producing future (eco-friendly) fuels, as well as preserving nature,” he added.

Source: Antara News

Synergy among several parties, including the government, the private sector, and industry, is capable of bolstering the renewable energy potential in Indonesia, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s official, Dadan Kusdiana, stated.

“Indonesia has more than enough renewable energy sources. Their potential is five times bigger than what we will use in 2060, and they vary and are spread out across Indonesia,” he pointed out.

“For instance, there are (sources, such as) wind, biothermal, solar, and ocean. This (synergy and collaboration) can drive our efforts to develop this potential,” he stated during the 2022 [RE]Spark event here on Thursday.

Indonesia has vast potential in new renewable energy sources that reached over 400 GW. However, only 2.5 percent is utilized from this figure, or 10 GW.

The government encourages the optimization of renewable utilization for sustainable development based on the environment.

The existence of startups is expected to create a renewable business ecosystem that mobilizes the national economic wheel in the future.

This synergy and potential can be optimized to be explored with the role of technology and business within them.

“As a result, innovations, entrepreneurs, as well as large- and small-scale startups are necessary (to support the effort),” Kusdiana remarked.

National Development Planning Ministry’s/National Development Planning Agency’s (Bappenas’) official Arifin Rudiyanto stated that collaboration is one of the efforts for Indonesia’s long-term target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.

Moreover, it aims to realize the development of green and sustainable economy.

The institution has estimated that the utilization of new green technology will add two million new jobs.

“The government also makes various efforts, such as cooperating with the German government, to create job training to prepare the workforce that is familiar with this green technology in the future,” he remarked.

The 2022 [RE]Spark event was held by New Energy Nexus Indonesia and IKEA Foundation on June 2-3 to support and expedite the adoption of renewable energy and eco-friendly innovations through a series of activities.

Source: Antara News

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on June 5, 2022, for a three-day visit to enhance the economic partnership between the two countries as part of post-pandemic recovery efforts.

Indonesia will be the first country where Albanese will make a bilateral visit after his inauguration as the 31st Australian prime minister in May, director of East Asia and the Pacific at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Santo Darmosumarto, said during an online media briefing from Jakarta on Thursday.

“It has been a tradition for newly-installed Australian prime ministers to make Indonesia one of their first (overseas) visits. It seems that Prime Minister Albanese will continue the tradition,” he said.

Albanese is scheduled to meet with President Joko Widodo on June 6. The two leaders are expected to discuss efforts to enhance economic cooperation, including the implementation of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) that needs to be scaled up since it was signed in 2020.

“Although trade between the two countries swelled by up to 70 percent in 2021, the implementation of many things is still far from expectation. Thus, the discussion will focus on the issue which happens to be the center of the two leaders’ attention,” Darmosumarto said.

Albanese’s visit to Indonesia also reflects the significance of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership formed in 2018 to facilitate cooperation between the two nations in various fields, including defense, security, and democracy, he added.

Asked if Albanese will raise the issue of AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, he said Indonesia will put more emphasis on economic issues during Albanese’s visit to Indonesia.

“Indonesia sees that the dimension of cooperation with Australia, which previously focused on defense and security, has now covered other issues, including economic cooperation and people-to-people relations, which appear to dominate cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

During his visit to Indonesia, Albanese will be accompanied by his new Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Wong is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with her Indonesian counterpart, Retno L.P. Marsudi, a day before the annual leaders’ meeting between the two countries takes place on June 6.

Source: Antara News

Research Center for Prehistoric Archeology and History of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) team discovered ancient brick structures in the excavated soil in the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II museum area, Palembang, South Sumatra.

BRIN archaeologist Retno Purwanti stated here on Thursday that the ancient brick structure was discovered through observations made by a team of archaeologists from all four sides of the excavation to make the foundation for the installation of billboard piles on Wednesday, behind the Ganesha Statue, at the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Museum in Palembang.

The observation was made after a team of archaeologists earlier received a report from the Palembang Culture Service that had found fragments of presumably ancient bricks that were between 7-12 centimeters long, 6-7 centimeters wide, and four centimeters thick at that location.

“From that observation, there are two layers of bricks left in the northeast corner of the excavation. Among the brick fragments that are lifted there are three scratched bricks that may be from ancient symbols and letters,” she stated.

She explained that the brick structure is believed to be part of the Tengkuruk Palace, also known as Kuto Batu or Kuto Kecik, which was founded during the era of the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate in 1737.

“The brick arrangement is probably a fence wall around the inside of the palace that separates the courtyards of the princes, princesses, and the sultan’s house, as well as other parts,” she said while referring to the 2014 findings of four layers of brickwork at a nearby location.

“Referring to the plan of the palace made by Major William Thorn in 1811, this brick structure is likely the location of the residence of the Prince Queen,” she remarked.

In the meantime, the team of archaeologists still need to conduct further observations from various historical literacies to confirm these findings.

The BRIN Archaeologist team also found several foreign ceramic shards from China and Europe that are believed to have come from the Sung Dynasty during the 10th-12th century AD and the Qing Dynasty during the 18th-20th century AD. They will also examine the findings further.

Source: Antara News

Commission IV of the House of Representatives has urged the Agriculture Ministry to ask the government to declare the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak as a national disaster so that vaccine procurement can be expedited.

The status of the outbreak, which is yet to be raised to the level of a national disaster, has limited the supply of vaccines from the Agriculture Ministry to 1 million even though there are around 18 million heads of cattle that need to be vaccinated, head of Commission IV, Sudin, informed during a meeting with the Agriculture Ministry here on Thursday, according to a press release.

“One million vaccines, (that is) enough for (how many)? For East Java alone, it is not enough. Come on, take this as a national disaster, report it to the President, National Development Planning Agency, and the Finance Ministry,” Sudin said.

During the working meeting, director general of livestock and animal health at the Agriculture Ministry, Nasrullah, said that his administration has supplied 1 million vaccines for handling the foot-and-mouth disease.

“For the time being, we have supplied 1 million vaccines, which were sourced from state budget from activities revision,” he informed.

Nasrullah further said that the ministry will buy three million vaccines from France.

To this, Sudin replied that so far, there has been no agreement between the French government and the ministry regarding vaccine procurement.

“Don’t lie to me. France has not had a deal with you for the purchase of three million vaccines. Be honest, if this can’t be bought in France, (can it be bought from) Malaysia or not? (Sure). Is there any in Vietnam? Of course. Australia is also ready to help. That’s what I mean,” he added.

He also urged that in the future, the FMD vaccine not be commercialized because, besides the ministry, PT Biofarma is currently known to be pursuing a similar vaccine in Brazil.

“Biofarma has already left for Brazil. Before you (did anything), they had already (done something first). Don’t let this FMD vaccine become commercialized. I don’t want it. (Think of) the people who already have it difficult, (do you really want to make it) harder (for them) again,” he said.

Sudin also criticized the ministry’s efforts to send officials to Brazil to learn about handling FMD. He deemed the trip was in vain, saying the Brazilian government has not succeeded in overcoming FMD in the past 50 years.

It is better for the ministry to learn from Australia, which has remained free from an FMD outbreak, he opined.

Source: Antara News