Day: June 23, 2022

The Ministry of Manpower has sent 287 Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) to Japan under the government-to-government (G-to-G) placement program.

“On behalf of the Government of Indonesia, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the Government of Japan for providing opportunities for PMI to gain experience by working in Japan through the G-to-G program,” Deputy Minister of Manpower Afriansyah Noor said here on Thursday.

In the release of 287 PMIs for the 15th Batch of the Indonesian-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) program to Japan on Wednesday (June 22), Noor stated that cooperation for job placement would be more comprehensive if it were accompanied by training for workers.

“Therefore, I would like to invite the Japanese Government to increase investment in job training in Indonesia,” he emphasized.

He believes that the cooperation between Indonesia and Japan is mutually beneficial.

The deputy minister drew attention to extensive Japanese investment in Indonesia, such as in the automotive, trade, industry, services, and other sectors.

“I believe Japan obtains quite a lot of benefits by investing in various fields, such as in the automotive, trade, industry, services, and other areas,” he remarked.

He expressed optimism that the opportunity to work in Japan can offer useful experience and knowledge to the Indonesian workforce (TKI) about the Japanese work life and society.

Earlier, on April 19, the ministry had issued new regulations that stipulate 65 countries and states where Indonesian migrant workers can be placed during the new normal adaptation period.

The countries that Indonesian workers can be sent during the new normal adaptation period are Albania, South Africa, Algeria, the United States, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Denmark, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Hungary, Hong Kong, England, Iraq, Italy, Japan, and Germany.

Furthermore, New Caledonia, Canada, Kenya, Solomon Islands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Maldives, Malaysia, Morocco, Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea (PNG), United Arab Emirates, Poland and France are the other countries for PMI.

Source: Antara News

The foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak must be taken into account before performing the animal sacrifice ritual of Qurbani during Eid al-Adha in July 2022, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has said.

As Qurbani is voluntary (sunnah muakkadah) and is not obligatory, deferring animal slaughter for Eid if the conditions are not favorable will not be sinful for Muslims, he added.

“I need to emphasize that Qurbani is sunnah muakkadah (a voluntary deed), a commendable sunnah but it is not obligatory. It means that, if in some conditions, the Qurbani cannot be performed, Muslims must not force themselves, and they can seek other possible alternatives,” Qoumas said after attending a meeting at Bogor Palace, West Java, on Thursday.

The ministry will issue new regulations on animal slaughter for Qurbani amid the FMD outbreak in Indonesia as the demand for livestock, particularly cows and goats, is increasing ahead of Eid al-Adha, he informed.

The ministry will work with religious organizations to raise awareness among the Muslim population about the voluntary nature of the Islamic animal slaughter ritual, the minister said.

“In one or two days, we will coordinate with Islamic organizations to inform the public about the status of the Qurbani ritual and how to perform the Qurbani amidst the ongoing FMD outbreak in Indonesia,” he said.

He affirmed that his ministry will also follow regulations issued by the new FMD outbreak task force set up by President Joko Widodo and presided over by National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Suharyanto.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said that the government will restrict livestock movement in 1,765 sub-districts considered as “red zones” for the FMD outbreak.

He informed that the 1,765 sub-districts account for 38 percent of the 4,614 sub-districts nationwide.

The government will also procure 28–29 million doses of the FMD vaccine this year using funds from the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPC-PEN) budget, he added.

Source: Antara News

The Indonesian government’s fiscal support for fossil fuels is still too large, so it has the potential to slow down the energy transition and drain the public budget, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

“Indonesia critically needs to shift its support from fossil fuels to renewable energy to meet climate targets and energy mix targets and reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are volatile in price,” Anissa Suharsono from the research institute said in a press statement here on Thursday.

She is the lead author of a report entitled Indonesia’s Energy Support Measures: An Inventory of Incentives Impacting the Energy Transition. The study covers government support, which is officially classified as subsidies and incentives that support various types of energy in Indonesia.

She said Indonesia’s incentives for fossil fuels are 117 times higher than for renewable energy. Out of the total energy support in Indonesia, which reached Rp279 trillion in the 2020 fiscal year, about 88 percent (or Rp246 trillion) was allocated for fossil fuels.

According to the IISD report, the government is providing support of at least Rp74 trillion for the oil and gas industry, Rp112 trillion for fossil-based electricity, and Rp61 trillion for the coal sector.

The incentives for fossil fuels are 117 times higher than for renewable energy, pegged at only Rp2 trillion or less than 1 percent of the total support for the energy sector. Meanwhile, Rp31 trillion is being provided for biofuels and Rp19 billion for electric vehicles.

The report warns that amid the current high energy prices, these support figures are expected to increase significantly in 2022.

The study highlights Indonesia’s outstanding support for the fossil fuel sector in the 2016–2020 period, with oil and gas as well as coal-based electricity getting 94 percent of the support on average per year and renewable energy getting only 1 percent.

Experts have warned that Indonesia’s disproportionate support for fossil fuels is slowing the energy transition, draining the public budget, accelerating climate change, and endangering public health.

“These incentives represent a huge cost to the public budget, especially in the midst of high energy prices, and this is very detrimental to public health and the climate,” said Suharsono.

In the midst of soaring energy prices and the crisis in the cost of living, targeted support for the poor and vulnerable is key to conserving scarce public resources.

To do this, IISD has recommended that the government provide subsidies to PT Pertamina (Persero) so that it can sell fuel at below-market prices and PT PLN (Persero) to provide cheap electricity.

Source: Antara News

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has announced that the government will provide cattle breeders Rp10 million in compensation for every cow that is slaughtered due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

“Regarding the replacement, especially for animals that are destroyed or forcibly killed, the government has prepared compensation, especially for MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) breeders, amounting to Rp10 million per cow,” Hartarto said after attending an internal meeting on FMD handling, which was chaired by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Thursday.

During the meeting, it was agreed that the movement of livestock, especially cattle, from areas affected by FMD to other areas would be restricted, he informed.

“We see the sub-district level areas affected by foot-and-mouth disease as red areas. These red areas are in 1,765 of the country’s total 4,614 sub-districts or 38 percent,” he added.

During the meeting, it was also agreed that 29 million doses of the FMD vaccine would be procured this year using funds from the Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN).

Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the FMD Handling Task Force, Suharyanto, said that he will soon start working with elements of the task force from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Home Affairs, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), and National Police (Polri).

The FMD task force will adopt a handling mechanism that is similar to the one implemented for the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still ongoing, including by holding coordination meetings in the regions, especially in FMD red areas.

Source: Antara News

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has informed that as of Thursday, the number of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims reporting sick has reached 447.

Of the 447 pilgrims, 302 received outpatient care, 142 were treated at the Indonesian Hajj Health Clinic (KKHI), and 3 were taken to a Saudi Arabian hospital, spokesperson for the ministry’s Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH), Akhmad Fauzin, said.

“Meanwhile, Hajj pilgrims that have died increased by one person,” he informed at a press conference on Hajj pilgrimage implementation here on Thursday.

According to Fauzin, 10 Hajj pilgrims have died so far.

At least 57,100 Hajj pilgrims have departed for Saudi Arabia so far, he said. As for the special Hajj group, 1,827 pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, as many as 4,429 pilgrims are scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia in 11 batches from 7 embarkation points.

Two batches (comprising 820 pilgrims) will leave from the Jakarta-Bekasi embarkation point, two batches (720) from the Solo embarkation point, two batches (900) from the Surabaya embarkation point, and two batches (786) from the Makassar embarkation point.

Then, one batch each will leave from the Balikpapan embarkation point (360), the Batam embarkation point (450), and the Lombok embarkation point (360).

The Religious Affairs Ministry has been continuously reminding pilgrims to limit outdoor activities, wear footwear, drink water regularly, and maintain their health by eating on time and getting sufficient rest.

This year, Saudi Arabia has allowed one million pilgrims from various countries to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Indonesia has been allotted a quota of 100,051 for the pilgrimage.

Saudi Arabia has laid down two conditions for foreign Hajj pilgrims. First, the pilgrims must not be older than 65 years and must have received the full dose of any COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Saudi Health Ministry.

Second, pilgrims traveling from abroad must have a certificate showing a negative PCR result, with the test taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure.

Source: Antara News

The government approved the procurement of 29 million doses of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine for livestock this year by utilizing funds from the Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPC-PEN).

“The decision to use the KPC-PEN budget for funding FMD vaccine has been approved. Some 29 million doses of the vaccine are financed from KPC-PEN,” Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, stated after attending an internal meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) related to the handling of FMD in livestock at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Thursday.

Hartarto remarked that the president had also directed related ministries and institutions to prepare medicines and vaccinators as well as maintain a monitoring mechanism for the movement of livestock from one farm to another.

“This means that disinfectants are important to anticipate the virus spread,” Hartarto added.

The president also approved the structure of the FMD handling task force that would be led by the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the minister remarked.

Head of BNPB Suharyanto, who is concurrently leading the FMD Handling Task Force, said that his side will work along with the elements of the task force from the Coordinating Ministry for the Economic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Police (Polri), and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI).

“We will work as quickly as possible because we already have a similar model while handling the COVID-19 pandemic. We will apply it to handle FMD,” Suharyanto remarked.

His side will also conduct coordination meetings in the regions, especially in areas that are included in the FMD red zone.

“We urge the local government officials, governors, district heads, and mayors to prepare for handling FMD. We will work together to deal with this disease in Indonesian livestock as quickly as possible,” he emphasized.

Source: Antara News