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Tourism villages to help revive economy: Uno

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The development of tourism villages would help revive the national economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has said.

“In addition to the development of priority tourist destinations, we also have the micro-scale sector of tourism villages,” he noted during an online discussion on developing the rural economy here on Thursday.

“I believe that it will become part of the locomotive for Indonesian economy to revive,” he added.

The development of tourism villages, he said, would open up business opportunities as well as jobs for people affected by the pandemic.

Many people lost their jobs and returned home after the pandemic pummeled the Indonesian economy, Uno pointed out. Rural tourism can draw visitors wishing to spend some nights in homestays offered by villagers, enjoy village life, and interact with locals, he further said.

Rural tourist destinations could accommodate health protocols, as they are usually far from crowds, he added.

According to data provided by the ministry, the number of tourism villages has reached 1,352 and is expected to increase further.

“We are creating business opportunities for people, which, at the end, will improve people’s welfare in those villages,” Uno remarked.

The minister also called on stakeholders in the tourism sector to help improve tourism villages as part of adapting to the pandemic.

 

Source: Antara News

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PC-PEN program protecting vulnerable groups: Finance Minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the government’s COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (PC-PEN) program has succeeded in protecting vulnerable groups amid the pandemic.

“The social protection program under PC-PEN has protected the most vulnerable groups,” Indrawati told a parliament plenary session as she presented a draft law on state budget 2020 accountability here on Thursday.

Among the programs that have supported this achievement are the improvement in the Pre-employment Card program, electricity tariff cuts, and tax incentives for micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises, she said.

The minister said her evaluation was based on surveys conducted by several government institutions, such as the National Team for Acceleration of Poverty Eradication (TNP2K), as well as institutions outside the government, such as PROSPERA, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM) of the University of Indonesia, the Demographic Institution, and the World Bank. The PC-PEN program, she said, has helped restrain a sharp increase in poverty rate in 2020 that has reached 10.19 percent, slightly higher than 9.22 percent in 2019.

“In 2020, the number of open unemployment could be withheld at 7.07 percent, although it recorded a slight increase compared to 5.23 percent in 2019,” she added.

Indonesia’s Human Development Index, on the other hand, increased to 71.94 in 2020 compared to 71.92 percent in 2019, she noted.

According to Indrawati, PC-PEN has been quite responsive in handling any shocks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The PC-PEN has effectively restrained deterioration and maintained durability amidst the remarkable pressure (of COVID-19),” she said.

 

Source: Antara News

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Papua planning partial lockdown in August: official

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) – Papua is planning to enforce a partial lockdown for one month in August, 2021 to curb COVID-19 spread in communities amid a growing threat posed by the more contagious Delta variant, an official said.

“The lockdown will be imposed by considering several factors, including an upward COVID-19 trend,” assistant for economic and people’s prosperity affairs for the Papua provincial government, Muhammad Musaad, said.

The detailed rules for the enforcement of the partial lockdown are being deliberated by the authorities, he informed in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, on Thursday.

Referring to reports made by agencies, he said the current COVID-19 surge in Papua can partly be blamed on public mobility, especially the arrival of non-Papua residents at seaports. The lockdown is also being mulled in view of two sporting events, he added.

Ahead of the convening of Papua’s 2021 PON National Games in October and National Para Games in November this year, local residents in Jayapura city and four districts will need to get vaccinated, as requested by President Joko Widodo, he pointed out.

In keeping with the President’s request, the Papua administration is keen to intensify mass vaccination drives in Jayapura city and the districts of Jayapura, Mimika, Merauke, and Keerom, Musaad informed.

“We do not want to have additional COVID-19 cases,” he remarked. Papua’s 2021 PON National Games are scheduled to take place from October 2 to October 15, 2021, while the National Para Games (Peparnas) will be held from November 2 to November 15.

At least 6,400 athletes and 3,500 officials from 34 provinces across Indonesia are expected to participate in Papua’s PON National Games, which will feature 37 events. Meanwhile, 1,935 athletes and 740 officials will take part in the National Para Games in Jayapura City and Jayapura district, which will feature 12 events.

To ensure the safety of athletes and officials participating in the PON National Games and National Para Games, President Widodo has asked the concerned agencies to inoculate all athletes.

He has also instructed that local residents living near all venues of the sporting events and athletes’ villages be vaccinated, Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said.

Speaking at the online press conference shortly after attending a limited cabinet meeting with the President on Tuesday, Amali said mass vaccination drives for the targeted recipients need to be intensified.

To this end, mass vaccinations will be ramped up in Papua province to achieve the government’s goal of inoculating all targeted recipients by August this year, he said.

 

Source: Antara News

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Marine Affairs Ministry upbeat of economic recovery with rising export

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry is sanguine that rising exports in the marine and fisheries sector, in accordance with a spike in global demand, could increase national economic performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The marine and fisheries sector recorded positive performance for the first five months of 2021,” Director General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products, Artati Widiarti, stated here on Monday.

Trade balance in this sector also recorded a surplus of US$1.9 billion, up 3.72 percent, from the corresponding period in the previous year.

Cumulatively, the export value of fishery products during the January-May period had reached US$2.1 billion, an increase of 4.94 percent as compared to the same period in 2020.

“We need to be grateful for this (achievement), and it should strengthen our belief that the marine and fisheries sector can improve the economy in the midst of a pandemic,” Widiarti remarked.

Widiarti affirmed that her staff had played an active role in boosting exports, including through efforts to establish communication with Indonesian representatives in various countries to facilitate the requirements of exporters.

Moreover, her staff had striven to reduce export barriers and problems by taking various precautionary steps and establishing communication with competent authorities, especially in the Chinese and US markets.

The high export value came from the main commodities, including shrimp, which contributed US$865.9 million, or 41 percent of the total export value, followed by tuna-skipjack-mackarel tuna, as much as US$269.5 million, or 12.7 percent of the total export value; as well as squid–cuttlefish–octopus commodities that contributed US$223.6 million, or 10.6 percent of the total export value.

In the meantime, Indonesia’s main export destination country was the United States, with a contribution of US$934.1 million, or 44.2 percent of the total export value; followed by China at US$311.2 million, or 14.7 percent; and other ASEAN countries that contributed nearly US$230.7 million, or 10.9 percent.

“The increase in Indonesia’s export value was driven by heightened demand in several major export destination countries, especially in the US market,” Widiarti pointed out.

Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono had earlier expressed optimism that with full support for the national shrimp export increase program, Indonesia is projected to dominate the global shrimp market.

Trenggono noted that shrimp was a highly sought-after fishery commodity in the global market. During the 2015-2019 period, the market demand for shrimp was the second-highest after salmon.

During the 2015-2020 period, Indonesia had also contributed to meeting demand in the global shrimp market by an average of 6.9 percent annually.

To support the high demand, Minister Trenggono highlighted several programs being prepared by the ministry to boost national shrimp production and exports, including revitalizing ponds by building infrastructure or facilities that can be used as pilot areas for shrimp and simplification of shrimp farming business licensing.

Trenggono also drew attention to the construction of a Model Shrimp Estate for shrimp cultivation from upstream to downstream. Shrimp Estate is an adequate-scale shrimp breeder whose cultivation process is in one area with a production process that utilizes technology, so that the results can be optimal.

In addition, the breeding process can protect the shrimp from disease and is also more environment-friendly, so that a sustainable breeding process can be maintained.

 

Source: Antara News

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BPOM approves conducting clinical test on Ivermectin as COVID-19 drug

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) gave the nod to conducting the clinical test for Ivermectin to evaluate its effectiveness and safety for treating COVID-19 patients in Indonesia.

“Surely, with the approval, the clinical trial of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 drug can be conducted soon,” BPOM head Penny K. Lukito stated during a virtual press conference here on Monday.

The approval was given on the basis of several considerations, including the disease transmission situation, global publication on Ivermectin use, and the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) guidelines on treatment for COVID-19 patients.

The clinical trial is planned to be conducted at eight hospitals: Persahabatan Hospital, Prof. Dr. Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital, Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, Dr. Esnawan Antariksa Air Force Hospital, Suyoto Hospital, and Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital for COVID-19 in Jakarta as well as Soedarso Hospital in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, and Adam Malik Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra.

“For patients in need of this drug but cannot participate in the clinical trial, doctors can prescribe this drug in accordance with the approved protocols for clinical trial,” she remarked.

Earlier, the BPOM stated that Ivermectin could not yet be used in medication for COVID-19 patients, as the clinical trial data was yet unavailable.

“We still have to collect data on clinical test, and currently, it was not conclusive yet to support the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19,” she explained.

Lukito cautioned the public against purchasing the drug without a doctor’s prescription.

According to BPOM, Ivermectin 12 mg is registered in Indonesia for worm infection. The drug is given in a single dose of 150-200 mcg per kilogram of body weight once a year.

It was classified as a prescription drug, which is available to the public on prescription only.

Long-term consumption without prescription could cause side-effects, such as joint pain, skin rash, fever, headache, constipation, diarrhea, drowsiness, and Steven-Johnson Syndrome.

 

Source: Antara News

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LIPI forms cyber security team

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has formed a cyber security team to prevent and handle digital attacks.

Formed in cooperation with the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), the LIPI-Computer Security Incident Response Team (LIPI-CSIRT) will provide a number of services, including responding to cyber security incidents.

“The cooperation between LIPI and BSSN was formed for handling and recovering from cyber security incidents within the government sector, (and) at the same time, building resources for such handling and recovery measures at LIPI,” said acting chief of the institute, Agus Haryono, during the launch of LIPI-CSIRT in Jakarta on Monday.

The team will also provide services that are more reactive in nature, including early warnings, response and recovery, as well protection against system vulnerability, he informed.

“It will also need to provide reactive services should there be incidents, both as artifacts or forensics, as well as security assessment services,” he added.

Meanwhile, acting head of LIPI’s Science Documentation and Data Center, Hendro Subagyo, elaborated that the team was formed to prevent incidents by proactively assessing and detecting threats, planning mitigation efforts, and reviewing the BSSN’s information security architecture.

“CSIRT has the authority to handle security incidents that may happen or threaten the BSSN information system in the form of web defacement, DDOS, malware, and phishing. The support provided by the BSSN can vary depending on the type, impact, the incident itself, and the services that are used,” he added.

LIPI was the target of a defacement attack in 2020 and detected ransomware on its central printer server in 2021, Subagyo said. The existence of the LIPI-CSIRT is deemed important to handle such attacks, he added.

Haryono said that data and information are important resources for an institution, especially in the current digital era. A cyber attack can interfere with security and accessibility to data and information, he pointed out.

Cyber security, he continued, is an effort to maintain confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information in the face of digital attacks. (INE)

 

Source: Antara News

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MP questions Bandung high court’s ruling in drug trafficking case

Jakarta (ANTARA) – A senior member of parliament (MP) questioned the Bandung high court judges’ ruling under which six convicted drug traffickers, who had smuggled 402 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia, were freed from capital punishment.

“I question the logic of the Bandung high court judges’ ruling that has reduced the punishment of the six convicted drug traffickers. What has really happened?” Andi Rio Idris Padjalangi stated here on Monday.

The six convicted drug traffickers had earlier been awarded death penalty by the Cibadak District Court, but they rejected the verdict and filed an appeal to the high court against it.

Instead of keeping the verdict unaltered, the Bandung high court lightened their punishment.

Hence, Padjalangi, member of the House of Representatives’ (DPR’s) Commission III Overseeing Law and Human Rights, questioned the logic behind the Bandung high court judges’ ruling.

Padjalangi contended that the six convicted drug traffickers belonged to a transnational drug ring that had professionally worked and planned to destroy members of Indonesia’s young generation.

Padjalangi also urged the prosecutors to file an appeal against the ruling since discounting the punishment for drug offenders had evidently demonstrated Indonesia’s weak law enforcement against them.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have become trapped in a vicious circle.

The National Narcotics Agency’s (BNN’s) report of some 50 Indonesians dying of drug use daily has failed to deter drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances. The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs come from different communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Citing the result of a survey by the BNN and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Vice President Ma’ruf Amin noted that Indonesia had over 3.4 million drug users.

Drawing reference to the outcome of the survey, some 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians, aged between 15 and 64, had got siphoned into drug addiction, he noted.

Hence, marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Monday, Amin drew the collective attention of Indonesians to the ongoing grave threats of drug crimes.

 

Source: Antara News

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Hospital bed occupancy rate on Java Island above 90%: PERKI

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The hospital bed occupancy rate on Java Island, including in Jakarta, is above 90 percent owing to the recent surge in coronavirus cases, said Dr. Isman Firdaus, chairman of the Indonesian Cardiovascular Specialist Doctors Association (PERKI) .

“We have been overwhelmed. Usually the Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR) reaches 50-60 percent. Now in Java and Jakarta, (it) is already above 90 percent, and the number of on-duty doctors is also down because many have been infected with COVID-19,” he informed here on Monday.

Owing to a continuous flow of COVID-19 patients into hospital emergency service rooms, it is becoming difficult to provide optimal treatment to patients with other serious illnesses, he said here on Monday.

“Currently, heart disease patients in Indonesia have not been tackled properly because of the dominance of COVID-19 patients,” he added.

Dr. Dewi Astrid Lestari, a member of the Indonesian Association of Internal Medicine Specialists (PAPDI), provided a similar account.

“What is happening now is that major general hospitals have converted their functions to only serve COVID-19 cases, 100 percent,” she said.

As a consequence, patients with kidney failure, diabetes, hypertension, heart, lung, and autoimmune conditions, and cancer, among other things, are currently less likely to receive optimal care, even though they are also considered a vulnerable group, she pointed out.

Chairman of the Indonesian Pulmonologists’ Association (PDPI), Dr. Agus Dwi Susanto, said the COVID-19 red zone situation on Java Island and Jakarta has led to patients queuing up at several private and government-owned hospitals.

Therefore, additional hospital capacity is needed, with a number of considerations, said Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, a pulmonologist with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Indonesia (FKUI).

He suggested that the number of healthcare workers be increased and medical equipment and oxygen be made available to tackle the situation. Besides, primary health services should continue to be improved in handling non-COVID-19 patients, he said.

Aditama also emphasized the need to impose stricter restrictions on public activities to prevent a further spread of COVID-19 infections.

 

Source: Antara News

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