Day: December 23, 2022

The construction of a church and temple in the Riau Islands Regional Police premises can set an example in religious tolerance for all regional police, specifically in maintaining stability while handling diversity issues.

National Police chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, made the statement while reviewing and inaugurating the Ouikumene Holy Trinity Church and Adistana Samanasya Temple in the Riau Islands Regional Police premises in Batam on Friday.

“Hopefully, this can be developed in other districts or cities, that the Riau Islands Regional Police can be an example of religious harmony,” Prabowo said.

He also expressed the hope that the church and temple would not only be used by police officials, but also by the general public, as part of efforts to maintain religious harmony, tolerance, and stability.

In addition to the two houses of worship, Prabowo also reviewed the construction of 365 residences for police officials in the Riau Islands.

He said that the police force is collaborating with other related agencies for constructing the houses.

“Hopefully, the construction of houses can support and increase the motivation of members in providing better services to the community,” he said.

The police play an important role in maintaining security and political stability in society as well as upholding diversity.

“We want to move forward and not retreat; a unified (community) is the first foundation for Indonesia to become a better country, where democracy is great and the people are prosperous,” Prabowo said.

Furthermore, he expressed the hope that Riau Islands would improve its position among the most religiously tolerant provinces in Indonesia from sixth place in 2022.

He said that religious tolerance can have a positive impact on regional and national economic development.

“If it can be maintained, the levels of tolerance and economy will increase,” he added.

Source: Antara News

There has been an increase in the number of airplane passengers with the approach of the Christmas and New Year holidays, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has informed.

“From the report I received, the number of flights yesterday exceeded 1,000 flights, which reached 1,040 flights per day. Today, there might be more. This is a sign of the awakening of Indonesian aviation,” he said while inspecting Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang on Friday.

Amid the increasing flight frequency, Sumadi asked flight facility and infrastructure operators to make a number of preparations to anticipate congestion and queues at the airport.

“Several points that I inspected today were ground handling. I asked the airport operator and related stakeholders to increase the number of equipment and workers because delays at the baggage claim usually occur,” he informed.

Furthermore, regarding airplane ticket prices, the minister has coordinated with airlines so that travel fares remain fair.

He also advised the public to choose flights operating at night or early in the morning to get more competitive prices.

“I also ask airlines to operate their fleets optimally in an effort to serve the people in Papua, Ambon, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) as well,” he added.

Furthermore, Sumadi asked a number of airports to optimize operating hours in order to maximize the frequency of the take-off and landing of airplanes.

As part of his review, the minister inspected the Umrah lounge at Terminal 3 to check the services provided to Umrah pilgrims.

The ministry has taken several steps to improve services, namely moving some international flights to Terminal 2F and providing a lounge for Umrah pilgrims.

“We have provided a lounge facility to Umrah pilgrims. With good facilities, we are more confident of providing good services to the community,” he said.

Angkasa Pura II president director Muhammad Awaluddin and the director general of air transportation, Maria Kristi Endah Murni, accompanied the minister during the inspection.

Source: Antara News

General manager of the Bakauheni branch of state-run ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Suharto informed that Bakauheni-Merak ferry services were resumed early on Friday morning after being disrupted by bad weather the previous night.

“Last night, there was a queue of vehicles. However, after the Merak Port was re-opened, all of them were immediately transported (to Bakauheni Port),” he said on Friday.

Earlier, bad weather and strong winds at Merak Port, Banten province, had endangered crossing activities, he informed.

“(The weather) at Bakauheni Port (in Lampung province) was not as extreme as at Merak Port, still, we adjusted (our services) to the situation there (Merak Port),” he said.

After being temporarily closed, the Land Transportation Management Center (BPTD) resumed ferry services at 1:30 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) on Friday after weather conditions were declared normal.

The Bakauheni branch of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry had decided to temporarily stop crossing activities on Thursday (December 22, 2022).

Suharto said that a forecast issued by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at 7 p.m. WIB on Thursday had warned that the weather was not conducive for sailing.

“It resulted in high waves and strong winds at a number of crossing routes,” he added.

Hence, his party coordinated intensively with the BMKG, police, military, and port authorities before resuming ferry services to ensure a safe and smooth passage.

“(Our) management also actively and continuously conveyed information to customers,” he said.

Earlier, BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati had appealed to people on Tuesday (December 20) to stay alert for the potential for extreme weather ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

She said that the simultaneous occurrence of four meteorological phenomena — Asian monsoon, Asian cold surge, Madden-Julian oscillation, as well as the development of low-pressure areas in the southern waters of Indonesia — had the potential to cause extreme weather in several regions of Indonesia.

Source: Antara News

A member of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, Alimatul Qibtiyah, has called for affirmative action or a special treatment policy to achieve gender equality  in political leadership.

“There needs to be a new comprehension in society and policies that contain special treatment or affirmative action to achieve gender balance,” she said in a statement received here on Friday.

Women and men need support and treatment according to their conditions and needs, she pointed out.

The situation of women and men is not the same: They both differ in biological aspects and their roles in the family and society are heavily influenced by culture, particularly patriarchal culture.

Patriarchal culture is behind the discrepancy in the difficulties women and men face in their careers, with the former tending to find it harder to continue with their careers, Qibtiyah said.

“In the end, women tend to choose family over career opportunities that are in sight,” she noted.

According to her, the influence of a deeply-ingrained patriarchal culture causes women to subconsciously recognize and regard patriarchal understanding as a truth that must be obeyed.

This leads to women facing more challenges than men despite being presented with the same career opportunities and having the same capacities and qualifications.

Currently, Indonesian women can be seen to have received equal access to public careers, she noted.

“Of course, this development will give any female warriors a sense of pride from time to time,” she said.

And yet the fact remains that the number of women occupying leadership positions is still far smaller compared to of men, Qibtiyah added.

Source: Antara News