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Jakarta (ANTARA) – Governor of Jakarta interpreted Idul Adha as a long sacrifice during the COVID-19 pandemic in pursuit of something better.

“We are sanguine that God would replace this long sacrifice with something better Insya Allah (God’s will),” Baswedan stated on his Instagram account @aniesbaswedan here on Tuesday.

During his speech, the governor cited an exemplary story about Prophet Ibrahim’s family — Siti Hajar and Prophet Ibrahim himself — who lived around 4,300 years ago, with a lesson that still holds relevance and offers wisdom in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic condition.

The wisdom one gains from Prophet Ibrahim’s family is their unwavering obedience in fulfilling their responsibilities, completely surrendering to God, and enduring hardships by supporting and strengthening one another. “This year, again, we must celebrate Idul Adha with concerns and several limitations. This is our effort that we need to continue to make together,” he emphasized.

Baswedan also offered prayers for the people fighting on the front lines in battling the pandemic, so that they become stronger. They are health workers, officers on the field, and those who work in essential and critical sectors to fulfill their families’ needs.

“May Allah strengthen them, tackle the enemy with His oneness, and lift this pandemic trials from the earth,” he stated.

The former education and culture minister also urged Jakartans to perform the Idul Adha prayer at their own homes.

Performing the Idul Adha prayer at home was also imposed last year in a bid to stem the surge in COVID-19 cases.

“We urged you all to perform the Idul Adha prayer at your own homes, as we had earlier done last year,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Idul-Adha identically mirrors the sacrifice and sincerity of all Muslims, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.

“To all Muslims across Indonesia, I wish you a happy Idul Adha that we still celebrate this year in the nuance of concern since the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet ended. Idul Adha is synonymous with sacrifice and sincerity,” Amin remarked here on Tuesday.

In keeping with the practice of Qurban, Muslims are ordered to sacrifice cattle, such as cow, sheep, or camels, as mentioned in the Holy Quran, the vice president noted.

“Even, Prophet Muhammad said that anyone having a financial privilege during Idul Adha, but does not sacrifice, does not approach our prayer places,” he stated.

The vice president called on Muslims that are financially capable of fulfilling religious orders pertaining to sacrificing cattle and sharing the meat among others while adding that the sacrificial spirit must be bolstered through sincerity as was taught by Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail.

“I call on all of us to sacrifice by parting with some of our privileges to help them. The sacrificial spirit must be based on sincerity akin to what Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail had taught. Their sincerity reflects their piety and obedience to God,” he emphasized.

During the enforcement of emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM) in a bid to curb the COVID-19 transmission rate currently, the vice president urged that the slaughtering of sacrificial cattle be conducted at slaughterhouses (RPH).

If it cannot be done at a slaughterhouse, then the sacrificial cattle should be slaughtered without creating crowds either at mosques or outside them, he stated.

The Qurban meat should not be distributed in crowds at cattle slaughtering locations, but rather, it should be distributed by adhering to strict health protocols, he stressed.

“A surge in the number of COVID-19 cases that rebound in Indonesia should drive us all to become more motivated in sacrificing with full of sincerity while obeying God,” he affirmed.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Transportation’s Directorate General for Air Transportation released a circular letter on health requirements that must be met by domestic travelers.

In a statement received here, Tuesday, Director General for Air Transportation Novie Riyanto expounded that air transportation passengers will be required to show their vaccination cards, have received at least one dose, and have obtained a negative COVID-19 result in an RT-PCR test taken 48 hours prior to their departure.

“As for flights outside Java and Bali, passengers will need to show negative test results from an RT-PCR taken 48 hours prior or a negative result from an antigen swab test conducted in the last 24 hours prior to departure,” Riyanto noted while shedding light on the stipulations in Circular Letter Number 53 of 2021.

He further elaborated that during the Eid al-Adha holiday period, on July 19-25, restrictions are being applied for travelers under the age of 18, barring those traveling for work-related activities in the essential and critical sectors, people with urgent needs, such as patients with serious health conditions, pregnant women accompanied by one family member, women going into labor accompanied by a maximum of two people, and those taking non-COVID-19 related remains, with a maximum of five people permitted.

Those traveling for work in the essential and critical sectors are also required to show their worker registration certificates (STRP) or letters from their local governments and workplaces. Those, with urgent matters to tend to, are required to show their travel details, including referrals from hospitals or letters from local governments.

The circular letter also imposes exemption on vaccination cards for those with emergency medical needs, with referrals from internists; patients with severe health conditions; and pregnant women accompanied by one family member.

“The public is expected to follow these restrictions, so that our efforts in breaking the chain of COVID-19 do not go in vain,” he reiterated.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo held the Eid al-Adha prayer with a limited congregation, which included members of the Presidential security guard (Paspampres), at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java on Tuesday.

“I performed the Eid al-Adha prayer this morning in the courtyard of the Bogor Presidential Palace with a limited congregation,” the President wrote on his Instagram handle @jokowi on Tuesday.

He said that members of Paspampres led the prayer and delivered the sermon .

Though the participants were limited, the prayer went smoothly, he added.

“As the preacher said, every ordeal can be passed well when we face it with patience. Be patient to sacrifice carrying out Islamic teachings, and let go of selfishness to get closer to Allah SWT,” the President wrote.

The Eid al-Adha celebration this year was very different compared to the pre-pandemic years, with the government ordering Muslims to pray at home instead of joining mass prayers due to the imposition of emergency restrictions on people’s movement on Java and Bali islands from July 3 to July 20, 2021.

Millions of Muslims all over the world on Tuesday celebrated Eid al-Adha, also called Idul Adha, an Islamic religious festival commemorating Prophet Abraham’s faithfulness to God. His test of faith involved an unfulfilled command to sacrifice his son.

The holiday also marks the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Wuquf in Arafat is the culmination of the hajj, when worshipers offer prayers and good wishes from sunrise to sunset.

Eid al-Adha is one of the two most important Islamic holidays, besides Idul Fitri, or Eid al-Fitr, which was celebrated in May this year to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday evening announced the extension of emergency mobility restrictions (PPKM) until July 25, 2021, saying they will be gradually relaxed from July 26 depending on the trend in coronavirus infections.

“If the trend of cases continues to decline, then on July 26, 2021, the government will gradually lift restrictions,” said Widodo in a video statement streamed on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel.

The government had earlier announced emergency mobility restrictions in provinces across Java and Bali, as well as 15 districts/cities outside the islands, from July 3 to July 20.

“The implementation of the emergency PPKM, which began on July 3, was an unavoidable policy that needed to be taken by the government, despite it being a tough decision to make,” the President said.

The emergency PPKM policy has been implemented to cut the transmission of COVID-19 and reduce hospitalizations, he explained.

“This is so that (the demand) does not lead to hospital overcapacity and so that health treatments for patients with other critical illnesses are not disrupted, and their lives are not threatened,” he added.

Data has shown that the number of cases and bed occupancy in hospitals have decreased following the implementation of the emergency PPKM, Widodo said.

“We always monitor and comprehend the dynamics on the ground, at the same time, we listen to those who are affected by the PPKM,” he remarked.

If COVID-19 cases continue to fall within the additional five days of PPKM implementation, the government will begin rolling back restrictions, including by allowing traditional markets and small businesses to open for fixed hours that will be set by local governments, he informed. According to data provided by the COVID-19 task force, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia has reached 2,950,058 as of July 20, 2021, with the addition of 38,325 cases on Tuesday. The number of active cases has reached 550,192, it added.

Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients increased by 29,791 on Tuesday, taking total COVID-19 recoveries to 2,323,666.

The number of deaths increased by 1,280, bringing the total death toll from COVID-19 in Indonesia to 76,200.

Source: Antara News