Day: August 20, 2022

Jakarta The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) recorded 1,160 Micro and Small Business Actors (PUMK) from 2,400 PUMK, or around 52 percent, were facilitated through the Legal Aid and Assistance Service (LBPH) Program.

“In addition, registration of the Business Identification Number (NIB) for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has achieved 100 percent, or 7,500 MSMEs,” Expert Staff of Productivity and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Yulis, stated during the third anniversary of MicroMentor Indonesia (MMI) in Jakarta through an official statement received on Saturday.

The MMI program is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs with Mastercard, Commonwealth Bank, and Mercy Corps in order to encourage MSMEs in advancing their capabilities.

The collaboration aimed to improve digital transformation literacy and build a business assistance ecosystem in addition to protecting MSMEs with cybersecurity.

“The collaboration has succeeded in creating two excellent programs — the digital acceleration of MSMEs companion (SIGAP UMKM) and the Micro Business Transformation Guard (Garda Transfumi) — which has reached more than 60 thousand MSMEs and 20 thousand volunteer mentors in 2019 since MMI was launched in 2019,” Yulis added.

Of the 64.19 million MSMEs in Indonesia, some 64.14 million are MSEs, with most of them focusing in the informal sector. Until 2019, only four percent of the MSEs had been certified. Hence, the ministry aims to improve the transformation of MSMEs from informal to formal through fostering and assisting micro-enterprises in business licensing and legal assistance.

“I hope that the companion volunteers, who have collaborated with MicroMentor, will continue to grow in future and become part of the solution to accelerate the transformation of microenterprises and the digital transformation of MSMEs,” he noted.

Meanwhile, President Director of Commonwealth Bank Lauren Sulistiawati is optimistic that the collaboration would be able to reach 100 thousand MSMEs by January 2023.

“To achieve this target, financial literacy is not enough. It also needs assistance by an expert mentor,” Sulistiawati emphasized.

On the same occasion, Executive Director of Mercy Corps Indonesia Ade Soekadis believes the MMI program will have a positive impact on MSMEs and the Indonesian economy.

Entering its fourth year, MMI will increase the features and services available. Through a virtual training system, Mastercard has provided access to global expertise with a series of expert speakers and cybersecurity toolkits for Indonesian MSMEs from the Global Cyber Alliance that can be accessed through the MMI platform.

Commonwealth Bank also provides support in providing materials and mentors related to virtual training systems and webinars, with topics revolving around business management, human resources (HR), and financial management.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta Indonesia needs more dental specialists as the current four thousand specialists can only meet the needs of six provinces, Secretary General of the Indonesian Dentists’ Association (PDGI) Dr. Tari Tritarayati, SH, MHKes has said.

“This is a challenge on how professional organizations must work together with dental education (institutions) so that the production (of dentists) can meet the national needs because, in the end, it is for the quality of services to the community,” she added here on Saturday.

Data from the Indonesian Medical Council (KKI) has pegged the number of dentists in Indonesia so far at more than 38 thousand. However, the number is still dominated by general dentists at around 34 thousand, while the number of dental specialists is only about four thousand.

According to PDGI data, the four thousand dental specialists can only meet the needs of six provinces, Tritarayati said.

Currently, one dental specialist serves more than 85 thousand patients, she pointed out. The distribution of dentists is also still far from ideal, considering that Indonesia has a wide geographical range and a large population, especially in remote, underdeveloped, border, and archipelagic regions.

According to her, there are many regions, especially remote, underdeveloped, border, and archipelagic regions, where primary health facilities still lack dentists.

“Forty percent of community health centers (puskesmas) do not have dentists,” she noted.

Although the need for dentists in Indonesia is still high, she highlighted that the most important thing is not only to produce a large number of dentistry graduates but also to equip them with good competencies.

“In line with the rapid growth of dentists, it is necessary to improve the quality of science, knowledge, and skills of dentists in providing dental and oral health services professionally,” she said.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is exploring cooperation in student exchange for marine and fisheries education units with ASEAN member countries in a bid to improve the quality of human resources.

Through its Marine and Fisheries Research and Human Resources Agency (BRSDM), the program aims to improve the quality of education in Southeast Asia and boost global competitiveness in the marine and fisheries sector.

“The quality of human resources is the key to ensuring the success of the nation’s development. With this program, we expect information, input, suggestions, and opportunities for the development of Indonesian marine and fisheries education through student exchange activities and job opportunities in ASEAN member countries,” Secretary of BRSDM Kusdiantoro noted during a series of the ASEAN Blue Economy Outings in Kupang, as quoted from an official statement received here, Saturday.

Kusdiantoro remarked that the program also aimed at providing grants to strengthen Indonesian marine and fisheries education institutions from the ASEAN.

Kusdiantoro stated that currently, the ministry had 20 educational units spread across Indonesia, comprising 11 higher education units comprising 10 Polytechnics and one Community Academy, as well as nine secondary education units, such as the Fisheries Business Vocational School (SUPM).

The number of active students currently reaches 7,335, while the number of graduates from the establishment of the education unit had reached 50,984, comprising 19,292 graduates of higher education and 31,692 graduates of vocational education.

“One of the higher education institutions that we have is the KP Kupang Polytechnic. By implementing the Teaching Factory (Tefa) scheme, students can experience first-hand the work environment and setting in the aquaculture sector as well as in processing and fishing vessels. (This is) because in managing the oceans, we need qualified and competent human resources,” he stated.

ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi welcomed the plan on student exchange from ASEAN countries with KP Polytechnic. He believes that these activities can be utilized for sharing knowledge and technology as well as for providing opportunities for internships or work in ASEAN member countries to improve the quality of skilled human resources among member countries.

Kusdiantoro also expressed optimism that ASEAN and Seychelles member countries would be able to work together to invite the international community to mobilize collaboration and investment opportunities to realize sustainable marine management, economic development, and competent human resources in the implementation of the blue economy.

Earlier, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said that development of the blue economy was one of the most important aspects, as it had become the main reference for restoring marine health and marine potential that would become Indonesia’s economic strength.

Human resources are the key to the success of blue economy development. Thus, the ministry’s higher education institutions are required to develop educational flexibility and innovation to understand the importance of maintaining the marine ecology and the seas.

Source: Antara News

Surakarta, Central Java Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga has assured that the availability of basic commodities is currently relatively stable compared to the previous month and has positively impacted price stability.

“One of them is for bulk cooking oil. The traders sell it at Rp11,700 per liter, and the price is below the retail price ceiling (HET) set by the government, which is Rp14 thousand per liter,” he informed on the sidelines of an inspection of Legi Market here on Saturday.

Sambuaga said he hoped that the matching of the price of cooking oil with HET can be followed by more markets.

“This is in accordance with President Joko Widodo’s direction so that bulk cooking oil is always available and the public can buy it at an affordable price,” he added.

Further, the prices of other commodities, such as shallots, garlic, and chilis, are also relatively stable. Shallots are priced at Rp45 thousand per kilogram and garlic at Rp17 thousand per kilogram, he noted.

Meanwhile, curly red chilis are priced at Rp45 thousand per kilogram, large red chilis at Rp45 thousand per kilogram, and red bird’s eye chilis at Rp33 thousand per kilogram.

Regarding the availability of basic commodities until the end of the year, he affirmed that the ministry is striving to ensure that the community’s needs are fulfilled.

“The most important thing is that we maintain the availability of people’s basic needs. Do not let the availability experience problems. After I checked earlier, the stock is safe,” he remarked.

In addition, he also underlined the importance of monitoring the distribution of basic commodities. The ministry is making efforts to ensure that there are no obstacles in the distribution.

“We are maintaining smooth distribution, supply chain, and, of course, coordinating with local governments and other stakeholders,” the deputy minister said.

Source: Antara News

Batam, Riau Islands The Indonesian Coast Guard (Bakamla) detained a Vietnamese-flagged fishing vessel in the North Natuna waters, Riau Islands, on early Saturday, on grounds of allegedly conducting illegal fishing.

“The Vietnamese-flagged ship was detained during regular patrolling of Bakamla’s ship KN Pulau Nipah 321 in the North Natuna waters,” an official of Bakamla Captain Yuhanes Antara stated here on Saturday.

He noted that the patrol ship had detected the Vietnamese vessel on its radar at some three nautical miles within the limits of the continental shelf.

“When the KN Pulau Nipah 321 approached them, the foreign vessel attempted to escape and increased its speed. The patrol ship’s commander, who grew suspicious of their activities, ordered to chase the ship,” he elaborated.

Based on the preliminary investigation, the Vietnamese ship named Chuc Thanh 7 has 17 crew members, all of whom are Vietnamese.

The ship was allegedly committing territorial violation and conducting illegal fishing in the country’s waters.

“The 17 ship crews are detained in the detention room of KN Pulau Nipah 321, while the Vietnamese vessel was towed to Batam,” Antara said.

Earlier, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) reportedly seized 83 fishing vessels that had conducted illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) in the Indonesian waters from January to July 2022.

Director-General of Marine and Fishery Resources Supervision of the KKP Adin Nurawaluddin stated that out of the 83 vessels, some 11 foreign fishing vessels were from Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

He noted that the Malaysian fishing vessels were captured in the Malacca Strait, while the Philippines vessel was seized on the border of North Sulawesi with the Philippines, whereas fishing vessels from Vietnam were secured in North Natuna.

Source: Antara News