February 17, 2023 – Page 2 – Indonesia News Gazette

February 17, 2023

KPU asks Bawaslu to reprimand parties promoting identity politics

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has asked the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) to reprimand political parties resorting to identity politics in their campaign for the 2024 General Elections.

“I believe our Bawaslu colleagues can reprimand or warn them through a warning letter,” KPU chairperson Hasyim Asy’ari said after attending the induction ceremony of the Bawaslu secretary general here on Friday.

He affirmed that Article 280 of Law No. 7 of 2017 on Elections explicitly prohibits the use of sentiments involving ethnic group, religion, race, and inter-group relations (SARA) or identity politics in political campaigns.

“Our Election Law elucidates that the use of SARA sentiments, legally known as identity politics, as the medium of campaigning oneself (as a political candidate) is prohibited,” Asy’ari stressed.

The KPU head made the remarks in response to a statement issued by chairperson of the Ummah Party, Ridho Rahmadi, who said that his party will defy negative opinions on identity politics.

“We will say it out loud that yes, we are the Ummah Party, and we are (part of) identity politics,” Rahmadi said at the opening ceremony of the Ummah Party’s national working meeting on February 13, 2023.

Meanwhile, Bawaslu chairperson Rahmat Bagja said that he deplored the party chairperson’s statement embracing identity politics.

“We deplore the statement. Identity politics was a major issue in the 2019 elections,” he said.

Bawaslu will sanction political parties that employ identity politics in their political campaign, he added.

“Yes, we will sanction them. We will first reprimand them, and we expect they will not repeat the offense,” Bagja said.

Last January, President Joko Widodo said that efforts must be optimized to ensure that people do not fall victim to identity politics in the run-up to the 2024 General Elections.

Last month, he asked all parties to show sensitivity in the upcoming election year by monitoring public conditions and allowing any friction or issue to be resolved sooner so that it does not lead to potential clashes.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

Indonesia turns to EpiC, USAID for endemic guidance

The Health Ministry will rope in international institutions EpiC and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to guide Indonesia in entering the endemic era of COVID-19.

“EpiC Indonesia and USAID have invited us to enter the endemic era properly to realize Indonesia’s proposal regarding the revocation of the pandemic era,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Mohammad Syahril, said during the “Workshop on Transition from Pandemic to Endemic” in Jakarta on Friday.

EpiC Indonesia is a part of the EpiC international organization, which is active in meeting targets and maintaining epidemic control, while USAID is an independent United States agency responsible for providing assistance in the economic, development, and humanitarian fields.

The Indonesian people are grateful for the government’s policy revoking restrictions on public mobility (PPKM) on December 30, 2022, after three years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

“That decision was taken based on a recommendation from all related parties,” he said.

However, the revocation of PPKM needs to be accompanied by the fulfillment of certain requirements, such as confirmation rates of below 20 per 100 thousand population, deaths below 1 per 100 thousand population, and hospital bed occupancy below 5 percent, Syahril said.

He also informed that 99 percent of the population in Indonesia has developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, based on a serology survey (serosurvey) carried out in January 2023.

“After the PPKM was revoked, the parameters of the cases remained under control, despite the turmoil in the surge in cases abroad,” he noted.

However, he still asked the public not to be careless, even though the government has successfully handled COVID-19 cases. In addition, the transition to endemic still requires efforts and mitigation from various elements.

“(An emergency situation) and a new variant may reappear, which will cause a spike in cases,” he cautioned.

Apart from that, Indonesia is also faced with the impact of the long-term COVID-19 effect, which has been experienced by 30 percent of survivors.

Triftianti from EpiC Indonesia’s COVID-19 technical office said at the same workshop that EpiC is a USAID-funded project to accelerate broad and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination services, as well as reduce morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 through mitigating tracing and strengthening the health system.

“EpiC Indonesia is working in Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, North Sumatra, and Papua,” she said.

It has provided technical assistance in the form of a grant of 1 thousand Vyaire LTV 1200/2200 mechanical ventilators to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in Indonesia.

From June 2020 to November 2021, around 905 ventilators have been distributed, and 1,572 health workers at 485 health facilities in 211 districts/cities have received the ventilators, she added.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

National movement on health screening needed to curb stunting: MPR

Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Lestari Moerdijat, has highlighted the importance of a national movement to promote the health screening of pregnant women, children, and under-five children to curb new stunting cases.

“Efforts for early health detection of (pregnant) mothers and children at health facilities at the smallest level like integrated health posts (posyandu) in neighborhoods and community health centers (puskesmas) must be carried out proactively to prevent the birth of babies at risk of stunting,” she said in a statement released here on Friday.

Efforts to curb stunting cases by improving the nutritional intake of pregnant women, children, and under-five children must be carried out consistently, she added.

According to her, efforts to monitor the fulfillment of the nutritional needs of pregnant women, children, and under-five children are essential.

She noted that, through routine health screenings, several potential diseases that can disrupt the growth and development of children can be expected to be detected early.

Early detection efforts can be carried out through a national movement so that significant measures can be taken to curb stunting, she added.

She said the national movement will need support from stakeholders in the central and regional governments to improve the awareness of the community in implementing a healthy lifestyle.

Based on the records of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), 1.9 million to 2 million couples get married per year, and as many as 1.6 million women who get pregnant in the first year of marriage give birth to 300 thousand babies that are at risk of stunting.

The agency’s record also shows that the maternal mortality rate in Indonesia still stands at 189 per 100,000 live births.

Moerdijat said that those findings are concerning as Indonesia is currently striving to curb stunting in the country.

Based on the Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI), the nation’s stunting prevalence stood at 21.6 percent in 2022.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

Widodo to ask new PSSI leaders to share targets, plans

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has planned to ask the two ministers who have just been elected as leaders of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to share their ideas about targets and plans for the association.

The two ministers are State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir and Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali. They were elected as the general chairperson and the vice general chairperson of PSSI, respectively, for the 2023–2027 period, based on the results of a PSSI extraordinary congress on Thursday (February 16, 2023).

“Next week, it looks like we will meet. I will ask, is there a road map yet? Is there a target yet? To achieve the target, what must be done?” Widodo said after attending the 50th anniversary of the United Development Party (PPP) at ICE BSD, Tangerang, on Friday.

Those questions should be addressed thoroughly in order to improve the performance of the Indonesian football team, he added.

The President emphasized that the government will not make any interventions in PSSI, or change the leadership of the association.

“What’s important is there should be a change, a total reformation, a transformation, so that with the power that we have, the potential that we have, the progress can be really seen,” he said.

To this end, he stressed that it is essential for a sports federation and its leaders to have a long-term plan, such as for 25–50 years ahead, to optimize the potential.

In addition, he highlighted other essential aspects, such as the need for infrastructure, especially a national training center.

He said that the issue was raised by the coach of Indonesia’s national football team, Shin Tae-yong, at a meeting some time ago.

“So far, we have not owned a basecamp. In a conversation with Shin Tae-yong, (he conveyed that we need) five fields in one location and lodgings for the players,” he added.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

Indonesia, international partners launch JETP Secretariat

The Indonesian government and co-leads of the International Partners Group launched the Secretariat for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) here on Thursday (February 16).

The Secretariat, established at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and supported by the Asian Development Bank, will serve as a coordinator for internal and external stakeholders on JETP, according to a press release issued by the US embassy in Jakarta on Friday.

The Secretariat will also play an important planning and project development function for the JETP, the embassy said.

At the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali in November 2022, Indonesia and leaders of the International Partners Group (IPG), co-led by the United States and Japan, and including Canada, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom, launched a partnership in support of ambitious new targets for Indonesia’s just energy sector transition.

To achieve those targets, an initial US$20 billion in public and private financing will be mobilized over a three-to-five-year period and deployed through the coordination of the JETP Secretariat.

“The setup of the JETP Secretariat is a critical milestone. The Secretariat will manage the day-to-day implementation of Indonesia’s energy transition to low carbon that is sustainable, just, and supportive of Indonesia’s economic growth,” said Rachmat Kaimuddin, deputy minister for Infrastructure and Transportation at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment Affairs.

The Secretariat will support the Indonesian government in achieving the JETP objectives, including developing a comprehensive investment and policy plan in the next six months that reflects targeted greenhouse gas emissions reductions and support for affected communities.

“Indonesia’s just energy sector transformation requires many partners and tools. The JETP Secretariat is a place where these come together in the service of our shared commitments,” said IPG representatives Alexia Latortue, who is also the assistant secretary for international trade and development at the US Treasury.

The United States, Japan, and Indonesia also invited the private financial institutions convened by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) to support Indonesia’s energy transition during a roundtable discussion on investment in Indonesia’s energy transition.

“The Secretariat will contribute to accelerating successful implementation of the JETP. We are hopeful that it would provide a good model of a just transition towards net zero to the region and to the entire world,” deputy director general of the Ministry of Finance of Japan, Tomoyoshi Yahagi, said.

The delegations and the Indonesian government representatives have also continued an inclusive dialogue with civil society organizations to share information, understand the concerns of affected communities, and listen to views on job creation, transparency, and other just transition topics.

“This JETP puts Indonesia at the forefront of the global transition to clean and affordable energy. With the Secretariat now in place, we are eager to implement the JETP’s ambitious renewable energy goals to power low-carbon economic growth and secure a safe climate future,” said Rick Duke, deputy special envoy for climate at the US Department of State.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

JETP to help Indonesia pursue energy transition better: minister

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment has expressed confidence that Indonesia can pursue the transition to new and renewable energy through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) approved during the 2022 G20 Summit.

Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan responded positively to the establishment of the JETP Secretariat in Indonesia on Wednesday, which aims to support the national target on climate aspects through collaborative efforts and funding from global partnerships.

“The secretariat will manage daily tasks on national energy transition which are low on carbon, sustainable, just, and beneficial for national economic growth, for it creates many job vacancies,” he said in a post on his Instagram account on Friday.

The secretariat has already expressed its commitment to collect as much as US$20 billion for initial public and private funding in the next three to five years.

“With support from IPG (the International Partner Group), I believe that we can pursue the transition to new renewable energy without compromising national economic growth,” he added.

The JETP is a global collective effort to address climate change issues and support the transition to sustainable energy.

The partnership is in accordance with Paris Agreement, which promotes the use of renewable energy and the shift away from fossil-based fuels.

“As a developing country with wealth in new and renewable energy, Indonesia needs support in efforts to strive for the change toward a sustainable energy system, for sure,” Minister Pandjaitan noted.

The partnership serves as just financial aid for vulnerable people and people who are at a disadvantage, who take the brunt of the impact of the energy transition process of a country.

The aid offered by the scheme covers technical, financial, and capacity aspects, the minister elaborated.

JETP is the biggest multilateral partnership financing scheme, which dabbles in climate change issues, he added.

The secretariat’s operation will kick off on February 17, 2023.

Its tasks will include the development of clean energy, particularly renewable ones; the retirement of coal power plants; and the creation of programs to push for energy efficiency.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

Registrations open for Pre-Employment Card Program’s 48th batch

Registrations for the 48th batch of the Pre-Employment Card Program’s normal scheme, which will have 10 thousand seats, opened at 7 pm, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto announced here on Friday.

“Candidates aged 18 to 64 years old can register through www.prakerja.go.id independently, without representative or substitute,” he said at a press conference.

Participants can join the training online or in a hybrid manner as stipulated within Presidential Regulation No.113 of 2022.

A meeting of job creation committee has decided that in 2023, pre-employment will be carried out under the normal scheme and will no longer be semi-social aid in nature, he informed.

Hence, the program will focus more on skill improvement with a higher training cost portion than incentives, he added.

The training quota has been limited to 10 thousand participants, adjusting to the number of programs that can be provided by the training institutions curated by the pre-employment card management.

In the future, the quota will be increased gradually as the number of training providers increases.

“The government has urged quality training institutions to participate in the training provider selection, especially training institutions in central and eastern Indonesia, specifically in very open cities, which are Pontianak, Makassar, Kupang, and Jayapura,” Hartarto said.

Training institutions seeking to become Pre-Employment Card program providers can contact digital platforms cooperating with the program, such as the government-owned platform Siap Kerja, to participate in the selection.

Training participants who want to wait for more diverse training programs can register in the next batch.

“This is because there is a time limit for training balance spending for participants. Thus, participants who want to participate in more diverse training can join the next batch,” the minister explained.

Source: Antara News

February 17, 2023

Ministry lists 5 housing challenges in Nusantara new capital

A senior official from the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry has enumerated five challenges related to the provision of housing in the new capital (IKN) Nusantara in North Penajam Paser district, East Kalimantan.

“There are a number of challenges that we are facing in implementing the provision of housing in IKN in a short time with very large numbers,” the ministry’s director general of housing, Iwan Suprijanto, said.

He made the remarks at a webinar titled “Government Policy in Fulfilling Housing Needs and the Role of the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII) in Supporting the Housing Fulfillment Program,” on Friday.

According to him, the first challenge involves construction technology given the focus on environmentally friendly technology to ensure the fulfillment of IKN’s key performance indicators (KPI) and clean construction.

“The challenge is to create construction technology to answer the need for environmentally friendly technology by utilizing the domestic component level (TKDN),” he explained.

In addition, technology to speed up the construction process to ensure the availability of massive housing, according to the time target, is also needed. Currently, modular technology is being used for the construction of flats, Suprijanto said.

“Because of that, I have challenged fellow engineers throughout Indonesia to develop modular precast technologies and even volumetric ones, especially for buildings,” he added.

The second challenge is supply chain support. Developers need effective supply chain support to utilize existing resources in East Kalimantan and maximize the use of TKDN, he said.

The third challenge relates to non-state budget funding. Suprijanto said that the state budget only covers 20 percent of the funding. The other 80 percent of funds for the development of IKN must come from creative financing.

Therefore, the government is also providing a chance to investors to get involved in IKN Nusantara’s development.

“We cannot only rely on the development budget provided by the government, but we also offer an investment opportunity for investors. It is not limited to the housing sector but also applies to other sectors,” he said.

The fourth challenge covers development integration. Since the new capital’s development is a massive multi-sectoral project, Suprijanto said that support from the private sector, universities, and other related parties is needed to integrate the development.

The last challenge is the need for a dashboard to monitor the housing construction and basic settlement infrastructure in IKN.

“We need a dashboard for monitoring the progress of housing construction and basic settlement infrastructure in IKN,” he added.

According to him, the Indonesian Capital City Authority (OIKN) must compile a real-time map that tracks the development phases and construction progress of all sectors on the dashboard as an integration effort for IKN development and to provide information to investors.

“With technology 4.0 moving toward 5.0, we need to ensure that infrastructure development in Indonesia is integrated with real-time monitoring that provides basic information to investors,” he said.

Source: Antara News