Day: March 7, 2023

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General Suharyanto is headed to Natuna District, Riau Islands Province, on Tuesday, to ensure emergency response attempts following landslides that struck the region on Monday (March 6).”The head of BNPB (Suharyanto) departed from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base (Jakarta) at 1:20 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Standard Time) using a Hercules C-130 aircraft,” Acting Head of BNPB’s Center for Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Abdul Muharisaid in a statement.

Suharyanto is scheduled to land at the Sadjad Ranai Air Base, Natuna District, on Tuesday afternoon, according toMuhari.

landslide hit the villages of Pangkalan and Jermalik in Serasan Sub-district, Natuna District, on Monday afternoon. Another landslide also occurred at Air Nusa Village, East Serasan Sub-district, Natuna District.

In Serasan Sub-district, the disaster claimed 10 lives, while 42 people were declared missing, five people were seriously injured, and three others were slightly injured.

The disaster also caused 219 residents of Serasan Sub-district to take refuge at the Cross-Border Post (PLBN) Serasan, 215 people at the local community health center (puskesmas), and 282 people at the Serasan 1 Public Senior High School (SMA).

In addition, a total of 500 people took shelter at the Pelimpak refuge post and Al Furqon Mosque.

Upon his arrival in the district, the BNPB head will chair a meeting with the Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) of Natuna District regarding post-disaster handling of the landslides, Muharirevealed.

“To support the search, rescue, and evacuation attempts (in Natuna District), BNPB also includes Basarnas (National Search and Rescue Agency) as well as disaster mitigation volunteer teams in the flight,” he said.

In addition, the agency also brought four large refugee tents, 100 family tents, 500 blankets, 500 mattresses, 15 units of 2 kilovolt-ampere (kVA) generators, 1,500 food packages, 1,500 ready-to-eat meal packages, 200 camp beds, as well as 100 salt lamps.

Furthermore, the BNPB will distribute fund assistance for emergency response attempts.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – With the government announcing an incentive of Rp7 million (US$455) for electric motorbike purchases, some manufacturers are intending to increase their domestic component level to 40 percent at least, the Industry Ministry has informed.”Some manufacturers told us that after the government (decided to) provide assistance for (prospective consumers to) make purchases, they will increase their domestic components to 40 percent at minimum,” Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said at the Presidential Palace here on Tuesday.

Currently, three manufacturers are eligible for the Rp7 million government subsidy–Gesits, Volta, and Selis, the minister elaborated.

He, however, did not divulge the names of other manufacturers who have expressed similar commitments. He only said that some manufacturers are pursuing efforts to increase the domestic component level.

“I cannot tell (you), but it is all an ongoing process,” he added.

He further said that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are being prioritized under the incentive policy.

“This is to promote productivity in practice,” he explained.

He said he expected the subsidy to push up the production or sales rate so that at least 200 thousand electric motorbikes will be manufactured and 50 thousand bikes converted from conventional to electric ones.

The government will also assist prospective consumers who are keen to buy electric cars, the minister said. However, he did not disclose the specifics of the said assistance.

“As for four-wheeled ones, it has been decided that there will be assistance for that. Ask Finance Minister (for the details),” Kartasasmita added.

He said he believes that the incentive for electric vehicle purchases will attract investors, which, in turn, will help develop the electric vehicle ecosystem. With investment coming in, new jobs will be generated.

The electric motorbike purchase incentive program is set to come into effect from March 20, 2023. The guidelines and technical aspects of the programs are being formulated by the Industry Ministry and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

The Industry Ministry has proposed the government subsidy for the purchase of 200,000 units of electric motorbikes, 35,900 electric cars, and 138 electric buses. The policy will end in December 2023.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s quota-based measured fishing policy has officially been ratified on Monday, March 6, according to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.”(Law on) measured fishing has been ratified. Last afternoon, I received a call from the state secretary minister. The government regulation has been inked by President Joko Widodo, and it has been ratified,” the minister stated during the 2023 technical meeting on maritime and fisheries resources monitoring accessed here on Tuesday.

Trenggono instructed the Director General of Fishing at the ministry to formulate the derivative or technical regulations of that law.

The policy was necessary to maintain the sustainability of marine organisms. Three types of quota are detailed in the measured fishing policy, he remarked.

The three types in question are the fishing quota for fish catchers; quota for locals living by the shores; and quota for educational, training, and leisurely intents.

There are 11 fish-catching areas and six zones across the Indonesian territory.

“I want for zone 2 and 3 to be the areas focused on developing the fisheries sector, of which we can bring foreign investors there, and those areas can become national fish (centers),” he remarked.

Quota-based fishing policy is one of the five blue economy policies issued by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.

The four other policies are expansion of the maritime conservation area; development of freshwater, sea, and coastal cultivation; marine waste management; and sustainable management of coastal area and small islands.

The government pays heed to the blue economy, as the sector contributes significantly to sustainability of the national maritime aspects that will ultimately benefit the people.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy has asked that the program to accelerate stunting reduction be shaped into a national movement.”Stunting must become a national movement since it already has public awareness, not only by the government and the agencies. Everyone is concerned about stunting,” he said at a coordination meeting with the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The participation of all parties is important for accelerating stunting reduction, he added.

For example, the effort can involve intervention during the first 1,000 days of life (HPK), which is a crucial period in a human’s life. This period must be optimized both for the provision of nutritional intake and for the child’s ability to grow and develop.

Stunting awareness must also be increased because based on data from the World Bank, in 2019, at least 54 percent of the productive workforce in Indonesia had experienced stunting, he added.

“Our Human Development Index (HDI) still needs improvements. We must prepare our future generation to be better than us,” he stressed.

Therefore, Effendy said he hopes that the stunting alleviation program can be carried out by each family.

“If we have the same vision to alleviate stunting, the efforts will be much easier to be implemented,” he added.

In addition, BKKBN Head Hasto Wardoyo informed that according to data from the Health Ministry, in 2022, the factors that helped reduce stunting were the fulfillment of breast milk (96.4 percent), animal protein sources (69.9 percent), early breastfeeding initiation (IMD) (60.1 percent), provision of nutrition counseling (32 percent), milk and processed sources (30.1 percent), and exclusive breastfeeding (16.7 percent).

Therefore, the focus of BKKBN’s stunting intervention efforts is on the pre-marital period, pregnancy, and until the 1,000 HPK, based on the directives issued by President Joko Widodo and Minister Effendy.

The involvement of all parties can influence the acceleration of stunting reduction, for example, in fulfilling children’s need for animal proteins, Wardoyo noted.

“Animal proteins do not have to be expensive. Catfish is better than beef, and mackerel is also good. We do not need expensive imported fish,” he said.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy has lauded the North Kalimantan government for optimizing programs for reducing stunting and extreme poverty in the province.”The North Kalimantan provincial government has been quite progressive in handling social problems (such as) extreme poverty and stunting,” he said in a statement released here on Tuesday.

ccording to him, his ministry coordinated intensively with the North Kalimantan government through a virtual meeting on stunting reduction and extreme poverty alleviation acceleration on Monday (March 6, 2023).

t the coordination meeting, it was made known that, based on the 2022 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI), North Kalimantan’s stunting prevalence stood at 22.1 percent.

The figure reflected a decline of 5.4 percentage points compared to stunting prevalence of 27.5 percent in 2021.

Meanwhile, the extreme poverty rate in North Kalimantan stood at 0.63 percent in 2022, reflecting a decline of 0.23 percentage points from 0.86 percent in 2021.

The minister called for the continuous acceleration of stunting and extreme poverty handling in North Kalimantan.

“Those two problems, namely stunting and extreme poverty, need to be handled in an integrated and concurrent manner,” he said.

Based on the 2022 SSGI, Indonesia’s stunting prevalence declined from 24.4 percent in 2021 to 21.6 percent in 2022.

“The government is targeting (national) stunting prevalence to decline to 14 percent by 2024,” he noted.

Effendy further said that the government is targeting to reduce the national extreme poverty rate from 4 percent or 10.86 million people in 2021 to zero percent by 2024.

Meanwhile, North Kalimantan Governor Zainal Arifin Paliwang said that his administration is making serious efforts to alleviate extreme poverty.

“The efforts are being made through multi-sectoral collaboration, including central, provincial, district/city, sub-district, village governments, and non-governmental institutions,” he added.

The governor stated that the North Kalimantan government is optimistic of achieving the national targets set for 2024, namely zero percent extreme poverty and 14 percent stunting prevalence.

Source: Antara News Agency