Day: June 5, 2022

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Indonesia issued a unity message, “We only have one earth”, to mark World Environment Day.

To mark World Environment Day, UNDP Indonesian released a video message highlighting the country office’s diverse nationalities and ethnicities who were speaking with one voice to support the urgency of this year’s theme “We only have one earth”, UNDP Indonesia said in a statement here on Sunday.

Holding a plant to symbolize growth and development, the UNDP staffs called on people to be part of the solution to the environmental crises.

The staff delivered the message in sign language and their native languages, which included Bahasa Indonesia, the dialects from the Padang and Toraja regions of Indonesia, Swahili, Mandarin and English.

“Swift actions will nurture a sustainable planet, giving us result that we must protect,” a UNDP Indonesia staff member from Kenya, John Kimani, said in Swahili.

“Caring for our planet will restore the ecosystem, but we can’t act alone,” said Sakina Tarmizi, another member of UNDP Indonesia’s staff speaking in Padang dialect.

The video complements the global United Nations campaign, held annually by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to promote environmental action.

The message was published by UNDP Indonesia just days after the international meeting Stockhom+50, marking half a century after the first conference, highlighting the importance of multilateralism in tackling the world’s triple planetary crisis – climate, nature and pollution.

This year marks 50 years since the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, the first world conference to make the environment a major issue, UNDP Indonesia stated.

Participants at that conference adopted a series of principles for sound management of the environment, as part of the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment.

According to UNDP, Indonesia is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, following increased global pollution, as well as higher population density and an unsustainable rate of consumption.

With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be met in under a decade, environmental advocates hoped that the Stockholm+50 conference provided a platform for Indonesia to advocate for its priorities to tackle climate change: sustainable human consumption through the development of a circular economy and through sustainable ocean management, not least by reducing marine plastic debris.

Source: Antara News

An electric bus made by state-run train and railway manufacturer PT INKA (Persero), named E-Inobus, was showcased in the Borobudur Temple tourist area, Magelang district, Central Java province, on Saturday.

The showcase coincided with an electric motorized vehicle (KBL) exhibition and the inauguration of public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU) by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, senior manager for corporate social responsibility and stakeholder relationships at the company, Bambang Ramadhiarto, that the minister lauded the development of the electric bus.

“In February 2022, PT INKA (Persero), along with the Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Transportation Ministry, state-owned bus operator Perum Damri, state-run tourism enterprise PT TWC, and the Borobudur Temple Authority Agency held a coordination meeting to determine the locations for the SPKLU and the electric bus operation in the Borobudur Temple Super Priority Tourism Destination (DPSP) area,” he informed.

The KBL exhibition is part of the government’s attempts to ensure the success of the DPSP development program through the use of vehicles operating on renewable energy.

The E-Inobus trial in the tourism area reflects PT INKA’s (Persero’s) commitment to supporting the government in carrying out the energy transition in the transportation sector and making the 2022 G20 Summit a success.

On the same occasion, Pandjaitan said that his ministry has asked the train and railway manufacturer to expand the E-Inobus fleet to four or five buses.

“We congratulate you on the inauguration of Borobudur Temple as an environmentally friendly and sustainable destination,” he remarked.

It only takes three to four hours to fully charge the battery of PT INKA’s electric bus. The bus can run up to 200 kilometers (km) on a single charge.

Meanwhile, the noise from the electric bus (71 decibels, or dB, on average) is lower compared to conventional buses. For instance, the average noise generated by diesel buses is 85 dB.

The electric bus can run at a maximum speed of 90 km per hour and has a maximum gradability — the ability to climb a slope at an efficient speed — of 14 percent.

In addition, during a test run conducted over a distance of 122 km, the E-Inobus was found 58 percent more efficient than conventional buses.

Source: Antara News

Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK) Siti Nurbaya said the 2022 World Environment Day commemoration must become a moment to increase awareness of improving fair behavior towards the environment.

“The commemoration of the 2022 World Environment Day is an important moment to continue to grow, raise awareness to improve fair behavior towards the environment,” Nurbaya stated in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s post on Sunday on the occasion of World Environment Day, which is celebrated every June 5.

According to her, due to the persistence, real action and hard work from all elements of the nation in carrying out various President Joko Widodo’s key policies related to environmental development and natural resources management, currently, there have been multiple improvements, such as in structural transformation and natural and human productivity in overcoming inequality, and in creating prosperity.

Under President Joko Widodo’s administration, various corrective steps have also been taken to support the community, which are actualized by allocating 12.7 million hectares of social forest and 4.1 million hectares of land reserved for the agrarian reform.

The minister also pointed out other environmental development efforts, such as the permanent primary natural forest and peat moratorium, restoration of peat water management, rehabilitation of watersheds and mangroves, sustainable forest management and development of forestry multi-business.

In addition, several other government efforts include taking preventive measures against the loss of biodiversity, protecting wildlife through conservation, implementing policies on forest and land fires prevention, reducing deforestation rate, implementing various climate policies, including the FoLU Net Sink 2030, and strengthening the work instruments, such as law enforcement.

Nurbaya expressed appreciation and gratitude for the achievements thanks to cooperation involving various parties such as the government, society, communities, companies, and academics.

“The challenges ahead are not easier. Objectivity and clarity in how we look at problems and build articulation of problem-solving are crucial foundations for collaboration,” she remarked.

Source: Antara News

The 2022 Sumatra Bike Week (SWB) event held by the Harley Davidson Club Indonesia (HDCI) is expected to support national tourism and economic recovery.

“We want to become the pioneer of tourism revival,” HDCI Deputy Chairperson Jeffrey Eugene said in a press conference in Senayan here on Sunday.

A total of 3,000 motorcyclists are targeted to participate in the event. The participants will start touring from their respective regions to the city of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, which is the host of the event. The 2022 SBW event will be held from June 30 to July 3, 2022, at the Kantin Field, Bukittinggi.

At least 60 booths are provided for free for the local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to promote their products at the event.

“We hope this can offer positive impacts to the local MSMEs in West Sumatra so that the economy in West Sumatra can improve,” he said.

The event will be enlivened by live music performances, dance performances, a photography competition, a food festival and a voluntary social service event. The HDCI sets a target of attracting 20,000 participants.

The Secretary General of the HDCI, Husdi Karyono, added that the event is also expected to unite members of the HDCI in facing challenges related to the stigma toward riders of heavy motorcycles. The motorcycle touring participants in the event are urged to comply with all traffic rules.

Karyono affirmed that his club also partakes in charitable activities to help the government in reviving the national economy.

Chairperson of West Kalimantan HDCI Mahendra Jaya added that the event was initially planned to be held in early 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Jaya, the beautiful scenery and the stunning tourist attractions offered in West Sumatra are the main attraction of this year’s event.

Source: Antara News

A 23-year-old drug dealer in Lima Puluh Kota District, West Sumatra Province, launched a knife attack on two undercover narcotics officers who attempted to arrest him on June 2, 2022, a police officer said.

The cops, only identified by their initials as FY and RR, were engaged in a brawl with the suspect named Rangga Pratama who assaulted them with a knife, West Sumatra Police Spokesperson Sen.Coms. Satake Bayu said.

As a result, FY and RR sustained stab wounds on their wrists and backs. RR, however, could arrest Pratama, he said in a statement here on Sunday.

In their efforts to nab Pratama, FY and RR came to him as buyers. But, Pratama could identify them as the undercover cops. A brawl then broke out because Pratama resisted the arrest, he said.

FY got injured in the brawl. RR then helped protect his partner while attempting to defeat the drug dealer, Bayu said.

Pratama was finally arrested while FY and RR were admitted to the Ahmad Darwis Suliki Public Hospital to receive a medical treatment for their stab wounds, he added.

Domestic and transnational drug dealers view Indonesia as a potential market owing to its huge population and millions of drug users.

Drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.

People from all strata of society are falling prey to drugs in the country regardless of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.

Over the past few decades, the Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug barons found smuggling and trading drugs in the country.

The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has sought capital punishment for those involved in drug trade in the country.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has also issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.

However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as a main market, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to step up vigilance against them.

Source: Antara News

Chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) General Andika Perkasa has appealed to the World Peace Organization (WPO) to be able to play a role in helping resolve interstate conflicts around the world.

General Andika Perkasa made the statement following his meeting with several WPO’s executive members who paid a courtesy call as broadcast on Perkasa’s official YouTube channel on Saturday.

At the meeting, the WPO’s executive members appealed for the TNI’s support and directives to enable them to carry out the world peace mission, and to install an inscription of symbolic world peace in Papua.

Perkasa highlighted the importance of the WPO’s presence in promoting more normative solutions to the interstate conflicts.

To this end, resolving the interstate conflicts should not merely rely on international agencies. A domestically-scaled organization could also play a role in reducing tension of the conflicting parties, he said.

He further said that members of civil society’s role in reducing tension of conflicting parties was significant.

At the meeting, WPO’s Deputy President Bambang Hari said the WPO, currently joint by 27 retired TNI generals, is formed to promote insightful thoughts and discipline as standardized by the TNI.

General Perkasa was sworn in by President Joko Widodo as the TNI commander on November 17, 2021 in place of Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, who reached the retirement age of 58, on November 8, 2021.

According to observers, Papua is a challenge during Perkasa’s leadership as armed conflicts are still occurring in Papua and West Papua though the central and regional governments have been making the utmost efforts to improve the welfare of local communities by intensifying regional development.

Papua has borne witness to a spate of violence against civilians and security personnel in the past few years.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September 2020, with notorious armed groups launching a series of attacks that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured.

On April 25, 2021, Papuan separatists, operating in Beoga, fatally ambushed chief of the Papua State Intelligence Agency I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha and several security personnel during their visit to Dambet village.

Nugraha died of gunshot wounds.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry disclosed that 3,169 hajj pilgrims from the Padang, Bekasi, Solo, Surabaya, and Jakarta embarkation points were scheduled to depart for the holy city of Medina on Sunday.

“Yesterday, 2,776 hajj pilgrims left for Saudi Arabia. Today, 3,169 more hajj pilgrims depart,” Secretary of the ministry’s Haj and Umrah Directorate General Ahmad Abdullah told journalists here on Sunday.

The hajj pilgrims who left Indonesia on Saturday and Sunday for Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s annual pilgrimage in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, were expected to arrive in Medina, he said.

The government has urged all Indonesian hajj pilgrims to stay vigilant with Medina’s weather condition by limiting their unnecessary outdoor activities.

They are also required to maintain a healthy lifestyle and comply with the health protocols, he added.

For those in need of medical treatment during their stay in Medina, the Indonesian Government has prepared a health clinic for them.

As recently disclosed by Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the Indonesia Hajj Health Clinic (KKHI) in Medina is ready to serve Indonesian Hajj pilgrims during this year’s Hajj season.

The minister had earlier visited the city to monitor the preparedness of Hajj pilgrim services, including the Hajj health office.

The health clinic was last used in 2019, and with Saudi Arabia having reopened its doors to foreign Hajj pilgrims this year, it will be reactivated by repairing some medical installations, he noted.

The clinic is equipped with an emergency care unit, High Care Unit (HCU), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), inpatient facilities, as well as other facilities, such as laboratory and ultrasonography (USG) equipment.

He noted that some healthcare workers ready to cater to hajj pilgrims at the facility are general practitioners, a dentist, an internist, a pulmonologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist, an anesthesiologist, an otorhinolaryngologist, and mental health experts.

Others healthcare workers that will assist Indonesian Hajj pilgrims at the facility include a nutritionist, a radiologist, a pharmacist, and other supporting officers. Some six ambulances are also ready at the health office, he added.

Qoumas advised prospective Indonesian Hajj pilgrims to maintain their physical health, including by ensuring sufficient food and fluid intake before and during the pilgrimage.

According to the Saudi national meteorological agency, hajj pilgrims this year might face scorching heat conditions during their pilgrimage, as noon temperatures in Mecca and Medina may reach 49 degrees Celsius.

Source: Antara News

State-owned logistics firm Bulog has ensured that the imported frozen buffalo meat is free from the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), proven by negative results of PCR testing carried out by the Agriculture Ministry’s Veterinary Pharmacy Center.

Bulog’s Director of Supply Chain and Public Service Mokhamad Suyamto said in a statement received here on Sunday that Bulog conducts regular laboratory tests, including FMD tests, to ensure that the frozen buffalo meat imported from India has met the government’s health standards.

“Alhamdulillah (thank God), the results of the PCR tests yesterday are negative. Thus, Bulog is even more confident in distributing this frozen buffalo meat commodity to meet the meat needs in the country,” he said.

He added that before the FMD outbreak, the mechanism that Bulog applies for importing buffalo meat is that the meat should have passed the verification process from the Ministry of Agriculture. The meat is examined and certified by the Tanjung Priok Quarantine Center of the Ministry of Agriculture upon arrival in Indonesia.

“Before bring shipped to Indonesia, the buffalo meat, imported by Bulog, must have been confirmed to be supplied by suppliers that have gotten halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI),” he explained.

In addition, the meat must have also met the animal health requirements and been declared fit for human consumption by the Veterinary Agency in India, he further said.

The government has assigned Bulog to import 100 thousand tons of frozen buffalo meat in 2022 to provide an alternative choice for the community in meeting the needs of meat and as part of efforts to keep the meat prices stable at the consumer level.

So far, Bulog has imported as many as 46 thousand tons of frozen buffalo meat to the country. Thus, Bulog has succeeded in helping overcome the demand for frozen meat so that during this year’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, the meat prices could remain stable.

Source: Antara News