Day: August 26, 2022

The Marine and Air Police (Polairud) of Barelang Police detained a fisherman for allegedly attempting to smuggle protected marine biota from Batam, Riau Islands, into Singapore.

“The suspect, identified by his initial as D, 44, is a fisherman. D was arrested in the waters of Pemping Belakang Padang Island when he was about to make his way to the neighboring country (Singapore),” Chief of the Polairud Unit at the Balerang Police Commissioner Dwi Ramadhanto stated here on Friday.

Ramadhanto said among the protected marine biota are starfish, coral crabs, sea bunnies (jorunna parva), silver-mouthed turban (Turbo argyrostoma), Dog conch (Laevistrombus turturella), spiral babylon (Babylonia spirata), sea urchin, Soft coral, hard coral, clownfish, orange-spotted grouper, butterfly fish (Chaetodontidae), goat fish yellow clown goby, angel fish, and lionfish (Pterois).

“There are 2,258 fish and 473 coral reefs in total that would be smuggled into Singapore,” he said.

The police had earlier received a tip-off on the illegal shipping of protected coral reef and fish from the waters of Belakang Padang Island into Singapore.

Responding to the information, the police conducted night patrols and spotted a speedboat at the location.

“When we checked it, we found that the boat carried various types of coral reefs and fish that were planned to be transported to Singapore,” he said.

The police then detained the boat and the fisherman at the Barelang Police precinct for further investigation.

The suspect admitted to have conducted the smuggling of marine biota on several occasions for which he communicated with a receiver in Singapore.

The suspect would be charged under article 40 of Law No. 5 of 1990 on Natural Resource Conservation, with a maximum jail term of five years and fine of Rp100 million, while violation of article 87 of Law No. 21 of 2019 on fish, animal, and plant quarantine attracted a maximum jail term of three years and fine of Rp3 billion.

Source: Antara News

The government is making every effort to keep the energy subsidy at Rp502 trillion in order to not put pressure on the state budget (APBN), Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif has said.

“The government is (working at) keeping the energy subsidy at Rp502 trillion. If we can retrench it, why should we waste it?” he remarked at a press conference at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in Jakarta on Friday.

He said the government has prepared several schemes to maintain the energy subsidy, ranging from restricting the purchase of subsidized fuel oil, and distributing direct subsidies to low-income people, to raising the prices of Pertalite gasoline and diesel oil.

If the government does not take these measures, the energy subsidy will soar to Rp690 trillion, he explained.

The economic price of Pertalite gasoline is Rp17,200 per liter, while it is currently being sold at Rp7,650 per liter, he highlighted.

Meanwhile, the economic price of diesel oil is Rp17,600 per liter, well above the selling price of Rp5,150 per liter at gas stations. Further, the economic price of Pertamax gasoline is Rp19,900 per liter, while it is being sold at Rp12,500 per liter.

In a single day, Indonesia imports an estimated 600 thousand to 700 thousand barrels of fuel oil per day. With the crude price reaching US$96 per barrel currently, the government is spending around US$65 million on importing fuel oil per day.

He assured that the decision to raise the prices of Pertalite gasoline and diesel oil will not be realized this week because the government still needs to look into many considerations and gauge the economic and social impacts of a fuel oil price hike.

According to Energy Watch executive director Mamit Setiawan, it is time to adjust fuel oil prices in order to reduce the burden on the state budget. The budget allocations for the fuel oil subsidy can be diverted to other development sectors, such as education and health, he said.

If the government can divert Rp100 trillion from the fuel oil subsidy to the education and health sectors, it will have an extraordinary impact on Indonesia’s progress in the future, he added.

“Each student will get Rp12 million per year, so 8.1 million students (across Indonesia) will receive scholarships every year,” he said.

Source: Antara News

Art Jakarta’s return is an important signal of the recovery of Indonesia’s art ecosystem that has experienced difficulties during the pandemic, Culture Director General at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Hilmar Farid, said.

“This shows that art plays a pioneering role in the national recovery effort. Let us hope that this exhibition can inspire us all to explore artistic inspiration for a more sustainable life,” he added during the opening of 2022 Art Jakarta at Jakarta Convention Center on Friday.

He also noted that the difficult situation has encouraged many artists to experiment.

Their experiments have ranged from art exhibitions held via social media to online concerts, he said.

During the event, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Erick Thohir, urged people to promote culture, such as by appreciating artworks.

Culture can unite a nation; culture and art can also become a foundation so that Indonesia is not fractured, he explained.

“How can we as a nation unite? Appreciate what becomes our culture. This is why I am extraordinarily happy when this Art Jakarta is held once again,” he remarked.

Over the past two years, the pandemic has greatly affected the art ecosystem, both globally and domestically.

After the situation gradually improves, people are expected to promote art and culture so that the ecosystem can revive.

The 2022 Art Jakarta is being held from August 26 to 28, 2022, at Jakarta Convention Center.

The art exhibition has several segments, such as Art Jakarta Galeri, Art Jakarta Spot, AJX, AJ1, Bali Art Scene, Art Jakarta NFT, and Art Jakarta Talk.

At the exhibition, visitors will be able to view various artworks such as paintings, installations, statues, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The exhibition also has an interactive space for children to learn about the environment through art.

Source: Antara News

The Women in Business Action Council (WiBAC) of the 2022 G20 Business 20 (B20) has unveiled the One Global Women Empowerment (OGWE) blueprint for collaboration among stakeholders for supporting women’s empowerment efforts.

“In the WiBAC of 2022 G20 B20 dialogue, we have discussed the final document of B20 WiBAC Policy & Action Recommendation as well as the launch of the blueprint for the One Global Women Empowerment platform to advance inclusive, resilient, and sustainable global economic growth by empowering women,” chair of WiBAC, Ira Noviarti, said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Many great opportunities could be exploited if women are given equal opportunities to participate in the economic sector, she noted.

In the final document of the Policy & Action Recommendation, the dialogue forum has outlined three key efforts for improving the equal participation of women in the business sector.

The first effort seeks to empower women entrepreneurs by developing an ecosystem that can provide access to financial, legal, and technical assistance to business players.

The second effort is increasing women’s digital skills and leadership. Meanwhile, the third effort aims to promote the creation of a just and safe environment for women workers in the informal economy, including people in rural areas.

Furthermore, Noviarti noted the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders, including industry players, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), investors, philanthropists, service providers, and society, for realizing the efforts.

“The concrete steps we have taken through the Policy & Action Recommendation of 2022 G20 B20 WiBAC and the One Global Women Empowerment platform require participation from all stakeholders,” she added.

As one of the legacies of the B20, the OGWE aims to increase the capacity and empowerment of women business actors by improving their digital skills, knowledge sharing, funding and investment, technical support, as well as supportive policies.

B20 is the official dialogue forum for the global business community for providing practical policy recommendations from a business viewpoint to the G20.

Source: Antara News

The Rp502-trillion (US$33.6 billion) energy subsidy for 2022 equals the budget needed to develop several public facilities, including schools, hospitals, and toll roads, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has highlighted.

“This is only to present a perspective about the huge sum of the energy subsidy in 2022; the disbursed sum is even not sufficient yet,” she said at a press conference on the follow-up actions to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs’ meeting on the vehicle fuel subsidy, here on Friday.

The minister pointed out that the Rp502-trillion subsidy can be used to develop 3,333 mid-level hospitals, assuming the construction of each hospital requires funds of Rp150 billion (US$10.05 million).

“If the Health Minister requested hospital development fund now, (the development) can reach even the remote regions,” she remarked.

The subsidy is also equal to the funds required to develop 41,666 public health centers in various regions, particularly in the remote and border regions, with a Rp12-billion (US$804 thousand) budget for every location, the minister pointed out.

Moreover, the subsidy is equal to the budget needed to develop 227,886 primary schools, primarily in regions without any primary schools, with each school receiving Rp2.19 billion (US$146 thousand), she added.

Indrawati said that the huge sum could also fund the construction of 3,501 kilometers of new toll roads — assuming Rp142.8 billion (US$9.56 million) is needed to build 1 km — or equal to the entire length of the completed Trans-Sumatra toll road.

The minister further revealed that the vehicle fuel subsidy and compensation fund is expected to rise by Rp195.6 trillion (US$13.3 billion) to reach Rp698 trillion (US$46.7 billion). The surge is expected due to fluctuations in global fuel prices, the exchange rate of the national currency, and public consumption, she said.

The Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) has increased from US$100 per barrel to US$105, while the exchange rate of the rupiah has risen from Rp14,450 per US$1 to Rp14,700, she noted.

The ministry has also projected that the consumption of subsidized RON 90 fuel Pertalite will reach 126 percent of the 23.05 million kiloliters quota, and the consumption of subsidized diesel fuel Solar will reach 115 percent of the 15.1 million kiloliters quota, she added.

Source: Antara News

As much as 5.07 million metric tons or 68 percent of the subsidized 3-kilogram (kg) LPG has been consumed by wealthy households, or 60 percent of affluent families, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

Meanwhile, only 32 percent or 2.39 million metric tons of the subsidized LPG has been utilized by the poor, or 40 percent of the lowest household group.

“So, this is relatively small compared to subsidized fuel oil, but there are more wrong targets,” Minister Indrawati said at a press conference on the follow-up to the results of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs’ coordination meeting on fuel subsidy policy, which was followed online from here on Friday.

The situation is not much different from the case of Pertamax fuel, which has been subsidized by PT Pertamina, with 86 percent or 4.51 million kiloliters (kl) of the fuel going to 60 percent of the richest people in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, only 14 percent or 760 thousand kl of the subsidized Pertamax fuel has been consumed by 40 percent of the lower income class.

Pertamina is paying for the price difference of 4,800 per liter or 27.7 percent between Pertamax’s economic price of Rp17,300 per liter and retail price of Rp12,500 per liter.

The energy subsidy of Rp502 trillion has the potential to increase to Rp698 trillion this year, Indrawati opined and added that the subsidy is mostly being enjoyed by the upper-middle class.

“The poorest groups are actually getting very little benefit from this subsidy,” the minister added.

Source: Antara News