CIGARETTE PRICE HIKE YET TO BE DECIDED

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 29 (Antara) - The government is yet to take a decision on increasing the excise rate and sales price of cigarettes in the country as it still has to conduct a study to evaluate the pros and cons.          Since the proposal on the price hike was put forth in July, several quarters have suggested making careful evaluation before the cigarette price is hiked.          Legislator Mukhamad Misbakhun of Commission XI of the House of Representatives stated at a discussion in Jakarta on Saturday (Aug. 27) that the government should conduct careful evaluation before deciding to increase the excise rate and price of cigarettes.          According to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, the government has not yet issued a new sales price and excise rate.          "The Finance Ministry has not yet issued any new regulation regarding the retail sales price or excise tariff of cigarettes," she noted in Jakarta last week.          The public has been involved in debates and discourse as reports circulated lately that President Joko Widodo will increase the price of cigarettes to almost two folds that of the current price to Rp50 thousand per pack.

STOP BLAMING GOAT MEAT FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 27 (Antara) - To reduce import of beef, the Indonesian government will focus on developing sheep and goat farming in the country to provide alternative animal protein for consumers at home.         However, even though it is more of a myth than reality, the fact is that many people still consider goat meat as something that leads to high blood pressure and increased cholesterol in the body.       Many doctors have clarified that consuming lamb or goat meat is not the main cause of hypertension as understood by certain quarters. Goat meat has high saturated fat content yet the unsaturated fat is even higher.         It should also be noted that the saturated fat in goat meat is less than that found in beef or lamb. So, one should not avoid consuming goat satay if one consumes beef. As long as it is consumed in reasonable amounts, it would not cause high blood pressure or increase cholesterol level. It is just the same as consuming beef, according to a doctor.         A goat breeder, during the 2016 Livestock Service Month attended by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday, asked the government to clear the misconception and stop blaming goat meat as a cause of hypertension.

EVALUATING IMPACT OF PACKAGES ON LOGISTICS CENTERS

By Andi Abddussalam

Jakarta, Aug 27 (Antara) - The government will evaluate the impact of its economic policy packages on Bonded Logistics Centers (PLB) to see whether the policy is effective in facilitating the flow of goods in bonded zones.          The evaluation will  be carried out in the Cikarang PLB, West Java, among others, by a team of the Working Group I (Pokja I), one of the four Pokjas set up to accelerate and monitor the implementation of the government's economic policy packages.          The Pokja I will carry out observations in bonded areas as part of its task to conduct a campaign and dissemination of information on the package of policies. The working group also carries out its task of disseminating information through media advertisements.      Her group will see the problems being faced in the implementation of the economic policy packages and try to find solutions to the problems, according to Pokja I Coordinator for Economic Affairs, Diah Maulida. It will see the problems prevailing there before and after the implementation of the policy, she added.

GOVT DEREGULATES HOUSING FOR LOW-INCOME PEOPLE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 26 (Antara) - The government has issued a de-regulatory measure to facilitate the construction of low-cost housing for low-income people.          The measure, part of the efforts to implement the government's one million house development program, was aimed at enabling low-income people to have a house of their own. It was contained in the 13th tranche of the government's Economic Policy Package (PKE XIII) announced last Wednesday (Aug 24).          According to Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, the government specifically issued the PKE XIII as a concrete measure to fulfill what was conceived by the first vice president Bung Hatta.          It was Bung Hatta's dream to provide decent housing for all people, particularly those from the low-income group, including families of the civil servants and members of the military and National Police.      "The aim behind the issuance of the PKE XIII is to facilitate the construction of low-cost houses for low-income people by streamlining the licensing procedures," Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said when visiting the tomb of Bung Hatta at Tanah Kusir Public Cemetery. The visit was also in conjunction with the National Housing Day observed on Thursday.

CIGARETTE EXPENSES SHOULD BE DIVERTED TO IMPROVE NUTRITIONAL INTAKE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 25 (Antara) - Instead of damaging your lungs with smoke and increasing cancer risk, the citizens should utilize the money to increase the nutritional intake of their families and help  improve the quality of human resources.          The answer to this problem is probably most sought by various circles from the health sector and the younger generation that have, so far, called on the government to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty.         It is clear that the treaty will harm the interests of the tobacco industries and tobacco farmers, and they along with the smokers have jointly opposed it. Hence, the government's recent idea to significantly hike the price of cigarettes has immediately sparked positive and negative reactions.         While targeting to boost state revenues from cigarette taxes, the idea is also aimed at reducing the number of smokers. However, only time will tell if implementing the idea to hike cigarette prices will reduce the number of smokers while simultaneously increasing tax receipts from cigarette sales.

RESTORING DEGRADED PEATLAND

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 24 (Antara) - Indonesia is host to a large forest and peatland area which holds billions of tons of carbon sinks, which, if released, could cause danger to the environment and contribute to the world's greenhouse gas emissions.          The Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR) revealed that as per data last year, Indonesia hosts 34 billion tons of peat carbon sinks. In Kalimantan, the world's third largest island, there are 5,769,246 hectares of peat forests with 10.183 billion tons of carbon sinks.          As forest and peatland fires have been taking place every year, extensive peatland areas have undergone degradation and need to be restored.          Therefore, the government has set up a Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) assigned to manage efforts to restore the country's damaged peatland.          The agency is expected this year to restore the function of some 600 thousand hectares of peatland. In order to make its efforts a success, the agency has been advised to adopt the result of a research by Malaysia in restoring degraded peatland, involving a system used to harden peat soil.

LONG WAITING LIST MAY LEAD PILGRIMS TO SEEK SHORT CUT

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 23 (Antara) - The fact that would-be hajj pilgrims currently booking a slot will be able to depart for the Holy Land only after a wait of more than ten years could have caused some pilgrims to seek a short-cut method.         Before 2013, Indonesia had a quota of 211,000 pilgrims who could visit Saudi Arabia to perform the fifth pillar of the Islamic tenets. The quota is based on a formula of one pilgrim for every 1,000 of a country's population.         However, with the renovation of the Haram Mosque in Mecca going on for over three years now, the Indonesian quota of 211,000 was reduced to 168,000. This made the long waiting list of Indonesian hajj pilgrims even longer.         Now, over 2.5 million would-be hajj pilgrims are on the waiting list. So, if the quota of 168,000 continues, Indonesia would need about 15 years to send the last batch of the would-be pilgrims. In addition, the number of devouts who register every year continues to increase.          Therefore, many Indonesian Muslims who want to make a pilgrimage to Mecca might be frustrated to see the long waiting list. The arrest of 177 Indonesian would-be pilgrims on Saturday in Manila for having used fake Philippine passports is just an example.

GOVERNMENT WARNED OF CIGARETTE PRICE INCREASE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 21 (Antara) - The government's reported plan to significantly hike cigarette prices has sparked pros and cons reactions from various circles such as cigarette industries, lawmakers and  other quarters.          Chairman of the Indonesian White Cigarette Producers Association (Gaprindo), Muhaimin Moefti expressed worries that the plan if implemented would harm cigarette industries. Some factories can face bankruptcy and close down.          The significant price increases can reduce industries sales turnover as cigarette consumption by  low-income people will decline. It can also lead financially weak addicted smokers to commit crimes.          The normal prices of cigarettes currently range from Rp15,000 to Rp25,000 (US$1.13 - US$1.88) per pack. The government is planning to raise prices up to about Rp50,000 (US$3.76) per pack.     This means that a smoker who consumes one pack of cigarettes a day would spend some Rp1.5 million per month for cigarettes, a price which is higher than the workers' monthly basic minimum wage of Rp1.4 million in West Nusa Tenggara Province, for instance.

BI OFFICIALLY USES NEW BENCHMARK REFERENCE RATE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 22 (Antara) - The Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), decided on Friday evening to officially use the 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate as its benchmark reference rate, replacing its previous 12-month reference BI Rate.          "In order to make the monetary policy more effective, Bank Indonesia has decided to use the seven-day reverse repurchase (repo) rate as a benchmark reference replacing the BI Rate," BI Governor Agus Martowardojo said at a press conference while explaining the results of the BI Board of Governors' meeting in Jakarta on Friday.          Since mid-April 2016, the BI has begun a transitional period for the change of its benchmark interest rate instrument from the previous BI Rate to the new 7-Day RR rate.          During the transitional period until August 2016, the central bank was still using the BI Rate as its benchmark reference rate.          The BI board of governors' meeting on August 18-19, 2016, decided to officially use the BI 7-Day Reverse Repo (RR) Rate, which was set at 5.22 percent. The Deposit Facility Rate (DF Rate) was set at 4.5 percent, while the Landing Facility Rate (LF Rate) was lowered by 100 basis points from seven percent to six percent.

LAKE TOBA ORGANIZES CARNIVAL TO BOOST TOURISM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 20 (Antara) - Indonesia's largest lake of Toba is organizing a two day-carnival in conjunction with the 71st anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day to promote North Sumatra's tourism.         Dubbed as the Lake Toba Charm Independence Day Carnival (KKPDT), the event is expected to increase the attractiveness of the largest lake in Southeast Asia.          Lake Toba is the most popular tourist destination in Sumatra. Therefore, the Ministry of Tourism is speeding up the development of various tourist destinations in North Sumatra with Lake Toba as its tourism icon, to attract local and foreign tourists.         "North Sumatra Province has a lot of attractive tourist destinations that need to be developed. After all, a presidential regulation on Lake Toba Tourism Management Authority Board was also established last June," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya told the press in Parapat, in North Sumatra Saturday.          The minister made these remarks in connection with the Lake Toba Charm Independence Day Carnival (KKPDT) on August 20 and 21, 2016. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will open the carnival Sunday.

ALLOCATING BUDGET FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 19 (Antara) - Adequate infrastructure, including  connectivity, is vitally important for economic development and prosperity of the country.         As a country of more than 17 thousand islands, Indonesia needs to build connectivity to facilitate its inter-island, inter-provincial and intercity transportation systems and to support its economic development and growth.         "Sea, land and air connectivity has a positive impact on the country's economic growth," legislator Fauzih Amro of Commission V on transportation of the House of Representatives (DPR) said in a written statement in Jakarta on Thursday.          The government in its Draft 2017 State Budget (RAPBN 2017), therefore, allocated Rp346.6 trillion for infrastructure development, Rp29.5 trillion more than the Rp317.1 trillion worth of allocation set in the Revised 2016 State Budget (APBNP 2016).          In its RAPBN 2017 and the related Financial Note documents released on Thursday, the government classified infrastructure development into three main groups, namely, economic infrastructure, social infrastructure and supporting infrastructure.

GOVERNMENT SETS HIGH DEFICIT RATE TO BOOST ECONOMIC GROWTH

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 18 (Antara) - The budget deficit for 2017, set by the government and announced by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) before the parliament on Tuesday, is relatively high, reaching 2.41 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).          The budget deficit is set at a high rate amounting to Rp332.8 trillion as state revenues are tight, while the pace of development and economic growth should continue to be maintained and boosted.          While delivering the Draft 2017 State Budget and its Financial Notes before the plenary session of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Tuesday, President Jokowi unveiled the government's budget plan for 2017, with a total expenditure of Rp2,070.5 trillion, revenue of Rp1,737.7 trillion, and deficit of Rp332.8 trillion.         According to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the government has set a relatively high budget deficit as it wants to maintain the momentum of economic growth.        "The deficit is huge as state revenues are tight. However, we do not want to reduce expenditures since we have to maintain the momentum and accelerate economic growth," Sri Mulyani stated at a press conference on the Draft 2017 State Budget on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of Indonesian Independence.

LAWMAKERS GIVE MIXED REACTIONS TO ECONOMIC GROWTH TARGET

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 17 (Antara) - Lawmakers have given different reactions to the economic growth target of 5.3 percent set by the government in the Draft 2017 State Budget (RAPBN 2017).          The growth target is being viewed as realistic by a House of Representatives (DPR) member, but other legislators consider it to be too optimistic.           Nurdin Tampubolon of Commission XI on financial affairs of the DPR noted that the economic growth target was quite realistic under the prevailing conditions.      "It is quite good if the target could be achieved amid the global economic slowdown," Nurdin stated when asked to comment on the financial notes given by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in a State of the Nation Address at a plenary session in Jakarta on Tuesday.          However, Deputy Chairman of the DPR Fadli Zon believes that the macro assumptions set in the RAPBN 2017 are too optimistic.          "In my view, they are not realistic in terms of both receipt and growth targets," he told the press after the government handed over its notes of the RAPBN 2017 and its financial notes to the DPR.

BUSINESSES GIVE POSITIVE RESPONSE TO TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 16 (Antara) - The Indonesian capital market, entrepreneurs and public accountants have all positively responded to the tax amnesty program launched by the government to prompt those who have multi-trillion worth of assets stashed abroad to repatriation these.          The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi), the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) and the Accountant & Business Advisers firm, a PKF-affiliated public accountant office, were among those who responded favorably to the tax amnesty plan.          "The tax amnesty program is the best chance and the best solution for tax payers to solve their tax problems," Ahmadi Hadibroto, the executive director of the PKF Public Accountant Office, said in a seminar on tax amnesty in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.          The program, according to Hadibroto, was launched to facilitate taxpayers to fulfill their obligations and to free them from the tax related mistakes they had made in the past. It also aims to bring assets parked overseas by Indonesian businesses so that these could be used for development at home.

INDONESIA TO MONITOR UNITED STATES' SIMP PLAN ON FISH IMPORTS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 12 (Antara) - The United States is one of Indonesia's main fish export destination nations, as since 2015, the country has exempted its fish import duties through the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) mechanism.         However, Indonesia's fish exports to the United States might drop as the latter will, in the near future, impose a stringent rule on its fish imports through a seafood import monitoring program (SIMP) plan.          The US government is drafting a bill that will impose stricter conditions, such as the obligation of the fishermen of exporting countries to explain the location of fish catch and the types of fishing vessels and nets they used to catch the fish. Moreover, the fishermen will be required to provide details on their fish processing mechanism.         Based on the data from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, as quoted by the Tribun-Medan.com on March 14, the value of Indonesia's fish exports to the United States dropped by 37.5 percent from US$1.84 billion in 2014 to $1.15 billion in 2015.

CAPITAL MARKET HOPES FOR SUCCESS OF TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 10 (Antara) - The Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) is of the view that industry players in the capital market expect the tax amnesty program to succeed and have a positive impact on the country's economic development.          "The Indonesian capital market is ready to support the implementation of the tax amnesty policy, both in terms of regulation and infrastructure," said President Director of BEI Tito Sulistio on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Tax Amnesty's Integrated One-Stop Services (One Stop Service) in Jakarta on Wednesday.          He added that the one-stop integrated services will facilitate the taxpayers to consult about the tax amnesty, the payment rate of the tax amnesty, as well as seek answers to questions about capital market investment products and the "gateway" facilities such as securities companies.          "The success of this policy will have a positive impact, not only on the fiscal management of the country, but also the sustainability of growth in national economic activity going forward," he noted.

FULL DAY SCHOOL SYSTEM NEEDS FURTHER STUDY

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 9 (Antara) - The pioneering idea floated by the education minister to introduce a full day school education system wherein students will undertake extracurricular activities and thus receive character education after formal classroom has elicited much public response.          The idea was floated by Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy to introduce the full day school system for basic education, both for private and state elementary (SD) and lower secondary (SMP) schools. Students will remain at school during the hours when their parents are still at work in the office.          The full day school system will help develop the character of children, instead of leaving them free to indulge in any unsavory activity when parents are not home to supervise, Minister Effendy said at a function in Malang, East Java, on Sunday.          However, many quarters considered it important that implications of any such idea be studied thoroughly. Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Arorun Ni'am cautioned that the full day school system needs to be carefully evaluated before it is implemented.

GOVT CUTS BUDGET TO OVERCOME DEFICIT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 7 (Antara) - The government predicts that tax revenues will drop by Rp219 trillion from the targeted Rp1,539.166 trillion in the revised state budget 2016 this year, thus posing  potential to disturb the budget deficit performance.         Therefore, it is planning to cut its expenditure by about Rp133.8 trillion, consisting of  Rp65 trillion of the budget for ministries/state institutions  and Rp68 trillion of the spending for transfer to regions.     Chief Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said the state revenues up to the end of the year would not meet target set in the revised state budget. So, adjustment to the government expenditure should be made.         "We have discussed shortfall in a number of  revenue sources," Darmin said after attending a cabinet plenary meeting chaired by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Wednesday, August 3.     Earlier Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati predicted that tax revenues would fall Rp219 trillion short of target  and the shortfall is potential to obstruct budget deficit performance.

INDONESIA CONCERNED OVER INFLUX OF EXPATRIATES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 6 (Antara) - Amid the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), goods and services, including manpower, are flowing within a 'borderless region' that will force member states to become more efficient and build their competitive edge.         Many quarters have expressed concern at the possible influx of expatriates to Indonesia which still has high unemployment levels reaching some seven million.         The influx of expatriates can come not only from within the AEC region but also from other countries such as China. After all, China is described by analysts as a country that has a political mission to control the asset of other countries through its migrant citizens across the world.         Chinese migrants control many countries with the post-colonialism spirit, such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, apart from Indonesia, according to Hatta Taliwang, the director of the Soekarno-Hatta Institute.         The domination of Chinese migrants is successful in Singapore which was previously a Malay state. Malaysia is an example of a country which is able to protect itself from the domination of Chinese migrants.