Day: February 7, 2023

Jakarta – The Communication and Informatics Ministry stated that it was still in the process of preparing for journalistic copyrights or publishers’ rights to serve as regulation for digital platforms, so they could use the content of national media.

Director General of Information and Public Communication at the Communication and Informatics Ministry Usman Kansong noted that the draft of publishers’ rights had recently been completed and is currently in the process of submission to President Joko Widodo for seeking the initiative right.

“So we, the Communication and Informatics Ministry, are waiting for a response from the president. We have submitted this draft (to the president) and are waiting for his approval on the initiative right for journalistic copyrights,” he noted during a seminar on Digital Disruption and Sustainable Media Ecosystem Restructuring on Tuesday.

In the event of it being approved, the ministry will follow up with an in-depth discussion on adopting the journalistic copyrights as regulation with relevant stakeholders.

Two main aspects will be covered in the regulation, with the first being cooperation among digital platforms, such as Google, Meta, Twitter, and the national mass media.

If the digital platforms are looking to use the content of media outlets, then they would have to forge partnerships with media companies through a negotiation process that would lead to an agreement equivalent to a Business-to-Business (B2B) contract, he stated.

The second aspect to the regulation pertains to a distinct agency that would function as an entity that will oversee, control, and mediate both parties, those being digital platforms and media outlets.

“This agency will function as a mediator, so that if there is a disagreement between the platform and the media outlet, then it can be resolved,” he explained.

The ministry recommended for the Press Council to serve as the said agency, considering the fact that it had been overseeing, regulating, and controlling the national mass media since its inception.

Once the regulation of the publishers’ rights is passed, the Press Council will function as mediator between the digital platforms and mass media in terms of media content utilization from a business perspective.

“I agree that this journalistic copyright regulation is needed. Therefore, there needs to be collaboration and cooperation between the media (mass media), so that they adopt one perspective on the journalistic copyrights. Thus, platforms will be properly regulated,” he concluded.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – Good performance of the state budget succeeded in driving the 2022 economy to grow 5.3 percent compared to the previous year (year-on-year/yoy), far surpassing the 3.7-percent growth in 2021, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.

Good performance of the state budget is apparent from the deficit recorded at only 2.38 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), or Rp464.3 trillion, which came from the realization of state spending of Rp3,090.8 trillion and state revenue of Rp2,626.4 trillion.

“Thank God, even though since 2022, the world economic growth was projected to slow down, the Indonesian economy has recorded very good growth trend consistency,” Sri Mulyani noted in an official statement here on Tuesday.

Amid the escalation of global turmoil in 2022, the role of the state budget, as a shock absorber, remains very crucial.

Supply disruptions due to increased optimism for economic improvement in several developed countries not being followed up with improved production have raised the inflationary pressure.

The minister pointed out that the war in Ukraine also caused supply disruptions, so prices of commodities, particularly food and energy, soared sharply. As a result, several countries face very high inflationary pressures.

Inflation in several developed countries, such as the United States and nations in the European region, logged the highest record in the last four decades.

Global upshot of the impact of high inflation on the domestic side can be reduced by optimizing the function of the state budget as a shock absorber.

The government rolled out the Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) Program for cooking oil, increasing the budget for energy subsidies and compensation, adding BLT to offset rising fuel prices, offering wage subsidy assistance, and strengthening transfer funds to the regions to control inflation.

Thus, Sri Mulyani said domestic inflation is under control at a moderate level, at only 5.5 percent in 2022, so that the public’s purchasing power and the sustainability of economic recovery are maintained.

On the other hand, the effectiveness of policies for handling the COVID-19 pandemic has played a major role in maintaining the sustainability of economic recovery.

Acceleration of vaccination programs and the right approach in implementing social restrictions that are adaptive also effectively control the transmission of COVID-19 while maintaining economic activities, so that faster recovery can be achieved.

Various economic recovery programs through the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Program (PC-PEN) supported by accommodative monetary and financial sector policies have provided a major impetus for accelerating national economic recovery in 2022.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – The development of Padang Beach must pay attention to the strengthening of coastal vegetation to reduce abrasion, acting head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BNPB’s) Center for Disaster Data, Information, and Communication, Abdul Muhari, stressed.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said that one of the efforts to mitigate abrasion at Padang Beach is to build an offshore breakwater.

“Naturally, with an offshore breakwater, which is built parallel to the coastal area, a tombolo or sand sediment will be formed,” he noted during a discussion in the courtyard of Al-Hakim Mosque, Padang City, West Sumatra Province, on Monday (February 6, 2023).

Later, the sand sediment can be planted with vegetation, such as mangroves and Australian pine trees, which can prevent abrasion and mitigate the impact of tsunamis.

“The development of physical infrastructure is only for short term (solution) in 50–70 years because physical infrastructure will be damaged over time. However, tsunami may occur in a period of 50 to hundreds of years. Meanwhile, vegetation will grow stronger over time to withstand the waves,” the BNPB official explained.

There are some wave patterns at beaches. For instance, waves usually carry sand sediments in a direction perpendicular to the coast during the west and east monsoon seasons, he noted.

Meanwhile, during the transitional season, the longshore current carries the sediment along the coast.

“We have to map these patterns and characteristics one by one to determine what kind of coastal protection (infrastructure)will be effective in preventing abrasion,” Muhari emphasized.

Padang City’s coastline measures 68.13 kilometers (km) in length, hence the establishment of infrastructure that can protect the coastal area of the city is important since the city contributes to 25.7 percent of West Sumatra’s economy, head of the province’s Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda), Medi Iswandi, said.

The Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry will prioritize the development of coastal infrastructure around Al-Hakim Mosque in 2023, director general of water resources at the ministry, Jarot Widyoko, said.

“We will build a 500-meter revetment along Padang Beach. Apart from (constructing infrastructure on) the beach, we will also normalize the river in Batang Kandis,” he said.

Padang Mayor Hendri Septa said the city’s residents really require assistance from the central government to mitigate the impacts of abrasion and tsunamis along Padang Beach.

“We never expect a disaster to happen, but we still have to be vigilant,” he added.

Source: Antara News