GOVERNMENT VOWS TO IMPROVE 2017 HAJJ SERVICES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 30 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has committed to improving its Hajj pilgrimage services in the face of the increase in the country's Hajj quota from last year's 168,800 to 221 thousand in 2017.          In order to improve the Hajj services, the government has slightly increased the Hajj pilgrimage cost by Rp249,008, or about 0.72 percent of last year's Rp34,641,304 to Rp34,890,312 this year.      "After the government and House of Representatives agreed on the rate of the Hajj pilgrimage management cost (BPIH) for this year, we submitted its draft for a presidential decision on Monday (Mar 27) to be signed by the head of state. We hope that the president would soon issue a decision, so that would-be Hajj pilgrims would pay off their Hajj pilgrimage cost soon," Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on its website on Wednesday (Mar 29).        The minister has promised to improve Hajj services in line with the increase in BPIH.      The improvements in the services include increasing the number of meals to 43 comprising 25 in Mecca and 18 in Medina in addition to breakfast in Mecca.          Bus transportation services will be improved by using new fleet that will carry pilgrims from the Medina airport to their hotels and vice versa, inter-city services, and departure to the Arafah and Mina fields.          The Hajj organizers will also increase and upgrade the quality of tents in the Arafah field, including air-conditioned facilities. The length of stay in Saudi Arabia is 41 days.

ACEH TO ORGANIZE 'SAIL SABANG 2017'

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 29 (Antara) - Indonesia's province of Aceh in the western tip of Sumatra island will organize an international 'Sail Sabang 2017' event in the Sabang Bay later this year to promote its tourism and attract domestic and international tourists.          The central government seems to be serious in supporting the Sabang sailing festival. Hence, it held a coordination meeting to discuss the sailing event on Wednesday (March 29).          Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan urged that preparations should be done earlier so that the launching and implementation of the program would run smoothly, professionally, and successfully.          "We discussed technical matters and division of responsibilities at the cross-ministerial meeting, because we wanted all the preparations for Sail Sabang to be made well," Luhut noted.          The minister remarked that Indonesia had a lot of tourism potential that could be offered to tourists visiting the westernmost region.          According to the website www.sabangkota.go.id of the regional government of Sabang City, the sailing festival will include a number of attractions such as a yacht rally, seminar, international aerobatic show, visit by international cruise ships, Nusantara Youth ship, work parachute championship, international diving competition, Aceh cultural week, Sabang sail carnival, and a sci-tech exhibition held to observe 20 years of Sabang's sci-tech Jamboree.

HINDU COMMUNITY SOLEMNLY OBSERVES DAY OF SECLUSION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 28 (Antara) - Followers of Hinduism in Indonesia abandoned their routine activities and solemnly observed the Hindu Day of Seclusion on Tuesday to welcome the Saka New Year 1939.          For instance, in Jakarta, members of the Hindu community visited shrines and were seen deeply engrossed in offering prayers in silence at the Rawamangung's Pura Aditya Jaya shrine in East Jakarta. All corners of the shrine were decorated in white and yellow colors.          Clad in Balinese traditional attire, devout Hindus who just arrived at the shrine directly knelt down, bowing their heads, joining their hands, and raising them while offering prayers.          Solitude is the dominant nuance in observing the day of seclusion. Thus, some Hindus visiting the shrine laid prostrate or encircled the shrine while reading a book.          Indeed, quietness is the essence of the day of silence observed every year. This is in line with prohibitions that should be observed during the catur brata seclusion.          After a procession ritual, some approached the shrine to take rest, while others went to their homes along with family members.

GOVERNMENT SHUTTING DOWN ILLEGAL INVESTMENT FIRMS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 27 (Antara) - The government, through its Investment-alert Task Force, has, since early this year, shut down the operations of 19 investment companies for not holding permits.          Comprising seven ministries/state institutions, the task force has been set up to handle bogus investment companies and to prevent investors from falling prey to their operations.          The task force members are the Financial Service Authority (OJK), Trade Ministry, Communication and Information Technology Ministry, and Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Ministry, Attorney General's Office, National Police, and Capital Investment Coordinating Board.          According to the OJK, on Sunday (March 26), the investment alert task force had yet again closed the operations of six companies this month after shutting down six illegal investment firms in January and another seven in February.          "Their operations have the potential to harm the interests of the public and are believed to be breaching the rules," the task force's chief, Tongam L. Tobing, who is also OJK's director for policy and investigation support affairs, said in a written statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

APP-BASED TAXI SERVICES TO GET THREE-MONTH GRACE PERIOD

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 25 (Antara) - After operating for several years without any regulations, online taxi services will now have to follow new rules being worked out by the government, which will be implemented from April 1, 2017.          The new rules, consisting of at least 11 points, are regulated in the revision of Transportation Minister's Regulation No. 32 Year of 2016 on Public Transportation Services Without Fixed Routes.          Both app-based and conventional taxi services should abide by the new regulations, which consist of 11 points, though online taxi operators have yet to agree with 3 of the 11 points.          The government will stick to the April 1, 2017, deadline plan to enforce the rules. However, it will grant a grace period of three months until June 30 to both conventional and online taxi services without sanctions if they violated the rules.           Transportation Minister Budi Karya stated that he will grant the grace period for about three months as a transitional period to both conventional and app-based transportation services to meet the provisions.          "We stick to enforcing the rule as of April 1, 2017, but we will grant grace period for about three transitional months," the transpiration minister added in Jakarta on Friday.          The minister made the remarks in his efforts to popularize the transportation minister's regulations No. PM 32 Year of 2016 on Public Transpiration Services Without Fixed Routes that would put in force on April 1.

FOOD AKSI PROGRAM AIMED AT BUILDING FOOD RESILIENCE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 25 (Antara) - The launch of the Food Acceleration, Synergy, and Financial Inclusion program, called the Food AKSI program, Friday, in West Sumatra, is expected to maintain food resilience and improve the farmers' welfare in the agricultural sector.          The Financial Services Authority (OJK) launched the Food AKSI program in Sepuluh Kota District, West Sumatra, which is a synergy policy for accelerating financial inclusion to achieve food sovereignty.          The program is basically an integrated upstream and downstream financing program in the agricultural sector aimed at increasing the production of agricultural products and the prosperity of farmers in the country.          "The Food AKSI program is a concrete effort made by the OJK, along with the related ministries, government agencies, and financial service industries, to speed up and improve food sector financing, especially for the 11 main commodities," OJK Chairman D. Hadad stated in Jakarta on Friday.

NTB INTENSIVELY DEVELOPING ITS TOURISM SECTOR

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 24 (Antara) - The tourist resort area of Mandalika in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), is one of the 10 tourist destinations in the country that has been accorded priority for development by the government.          The regional government is using Mandalika to serve as a catalyst for the development of tourism in NTB Province, and to realize this, the province needs adequate financing sources.          Hence, the NTB chapter of the Financial Service Authority (OJK) has urged banks to increase their credit provisions for the development of tourism infrastructure in the province and to tap its tourism potential.          Although credits provided by banks to the tourism industry have increased from 2.95 percent in 2015 to 3.25 percent in 2016, the proportion of credits for the tourism sector is still small as compared to the tourism potential of the province, OJK Chief for NTB Yusri had stated in Mataram recently.          The amount of credit extension in the country in 2016 had amounted to Rp31.55 trillion, up by 29.98 percent from that in the previous year. The growth was the highest in the past five years. The portion of credits provided in NTB in 2016 also increased from 44.43 percent in 2015 to 50.91 percent in 2016.

'SILARIANG' MOVIE REFLECTS BUGINESE ELOPEMENT VALUES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 23 (Antara) - Young lovers must fight tooth and nail and remove all kinds of barriers  if they want to maintain their love and pass the aisle into wedlock.          But what happens if the parents of the two lovers do not agree with their relations? Most commonly in South Sulawesi in the past, the young couples resorted to what is called 'Silariang', a term which in Buginese or Makassarese means elopement.          In South Sulawesi, Silariang is a big shame that tarnishes the dignity or the self-esteem of parents, particularly the parents of the girl. It often ends up in bloodshed, an occasion which based on tradition in the past, is commonly acceptable to the Buginese people in South Sulawesi.          Perhaps this value is being reflected in the 'Silaring Movie' that the film is relatively successful in netting moviegoers.          The Silariang Film --starring Jeyhan Kler as Ali, Dinda Surbakti as Cia, Nurfadillah Naifa as Ati, Ikram Noer as Rio and Husen as Mamak Ramlah--  proved its success to attract film-goers although it is only played at limited movie theaters and is starred by local film artists.

INDONESIA CAUTIONED OF BEING TARGETED BY PEDOPHILES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 22 (Antara) - Child sexual abuse is one of the problems often faced by Indonesia, and the government is committed to tackling the menace by imposing severe punishment, such as castration, on pedophiles involved in such crimes.         Despite the government imposing severe punishment, cases of sexual abuse against children continue to occur. Perpetrators of child abuse are taking advantage of the advancements in information technology to develop their networks.         The Jakarta Police, for instance, had successfully unearthed a pedophile network operating under the account name "Official Candy's Group" on Facebook and arrested its administrators on Tuesday, last week (Mar 14).         According to the police, the Official Candy's Group network had connections to 11 similar groups that perpetrated crimes against children in several countries. Jakarta Police Head Insp. Gen. Mochammad Iriawan stated at a press conference that the Jakarta Police's Cyber Crime Sub-directorate had arrested four administrators of the group.         Hence, the Jakarta Police has warned that Indonesia should guard against being targeted by pedophiles who commit sexual violence against children.

PHASE II OF JAKARTA'S MRT EXPECTED TO START SOON

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 21 (Antara) - The government, through National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), hopes that construction of  Phase II of Jakarta's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project would start soon following the delay in the completion of the project's Phase I.         Bappenas Head Bambang Brodjonegoro stated in Jakarta on Sunday that Phase I of the MRT project had been scheduled for completion by the end of 2018 but it had been delayed until February 2019.         Therefore, the construction of Phase II should be started soon  because Phase II is the continuation of Phase I which both are parts of Jakarta's MRT South-North Line.          Jakarta is planning to develop two main lines of MRT which will crisscross the capital city with a total length of 117.6 kilometers (km) and are expected to help unravel Jakarta's traffic woes.          The two main lines are the South-North and the East-West lines. The construction plan of the MRT lines is carried out in three phases, notably Phase I, Phase II and Phase III.

INDONESIA'S EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE MAIZE SELF-SUFFICIENCY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 20 (Antara) - Various regions have begun actively planting maize through an intercropping system with palm oil and rubber plantations to support the government's vision of making Indonesia self-sufficient in maize production in 2018.        This year, the government plans to open three million hectares of new maize plantations of which about one million hectares will be developed on palm oil plantations through the intercropping system.    The Agriculture Ministry has set a target to integrate the planting of maize and palm oil in one million hectares of plantation areas across the country this year. With the additional three million hectares of new maize plantations, the country's corn plantation acreage will increase to 6.2 million hectares.        "For this year (2017), President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has given us a target to plant maize in one million hectares of palm oil plantations," Dedi Junaedi, the director general of Processing and Marketing of Plantation Products of the Agriculture Ministry, stated in Kuala Pembuang, Central Kalimantan, on Sunday (Mar 19).

GOVERNMENT PUSHES ON ITS ELECTRICIFICATION PROGRAM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 19 (Antara) - The government continues to accelerate the development of its power plants as part of its efforts to increase the country's electrification ratio of about 99 percent  by 2019.          President Joko Widodo on Saturday inaugurated eight mobile power plants (MPP) with a combined capacity of 500 megawatts (MW). The eight MPPs are located in six provinces of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Riau, North Sumatra and West Kalimantan.          However, the operations of the eight MPPs were inaugurated by the President through a video conference centered in Mempawah District, Pontianak, West Kalimantan.          The 500-MW MPPs are part of the government's efforts to achieve its 35 thousand MW electricity development program that would increase the country' s current electricity generation capacity from some 50 thousand MW to 85 thousand MW by the end of 2019.          State-owned electricity company PLN President Director Sofyan Basir, in a written statement said on Saturday that the eight MPPs officiated by President Jokowi were 2x25-MW MPP in Jeranjang, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara); 2x25 MW MPP in Air Anyir, Bangka (Banka Belitung or Babel province); the 4x25 MW MPP in Tarahan, Lampung; and the 1x25 MW in Nias, North Sumatra.

NEW PRESIDENT DIRECTOR EXPECTED TO OPTIMIZE PERTAMINA'S TEAMWORK

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 17 (Antara) - The newly appointed President Director of PT Pertamina, Elia Massa Manik, is expected to optimize teamwork at the state-owned oil and gas company.          Pertamina needs a leader, who is able to achieve teamwork, and not individual productivity. Thus, he should build communications on all lines. Good teamwork can be built with mutual trust and trust can only be built with good communications.          Elia should build communication among the management, the board of directors and board of commissioners so that it becomes easier for the company to execute its programs.          "So far, teamwork at Pertamina has not been optimal so the board of commissioners had proposed the restructuring of the organization and the leadership," Pertamina Chief Commissioner Tanri Abeng said in Jakarta on Thursday.          Recently, State-owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno had picked Elia as president director of Pertamina to replace Dwi Soetjipto, who was discharged on February 3.          Appointed to the post of Pertamina's President Director, based on State Enterprises Minister's Decree No. SK-52/MBU/03/2017, Elia had earlier held the post of president director of state-owned plantation holding company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III.

BALI CONTINUES TO PROMOTE ITS CULINARY DELICACIES TO TOURISTS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 15 (Antara) - The Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali, the country's biggest contributor to attracting foreign tourists, continues to promote its tourism potentials to draw more foreign visitors.          As a province that is popular among tourists and has several historic temples, scenic beaches, and panoramic views, such as rice fields and mountains, Bali had last year attracted 4.92 million foreign tourists, or about 41 percent of the country's total foreign visitors recorded at more than 12 million.          Bali also has different culinary delicacies to offer to visitors. Balinese dishes, include lawar, made from chopped coconut, garlic, chilli, pork, or chicken meat, and blood; and Bebek betutu, duck stuffed with spices and wrapped in banana leaves and coconut husks and cooked in a pit of embers.          Balinese sate, known as sate lilit, is made from spiced mince pressed onto skewers, which are often lemongrass sticks. Babi guling is a spit-roasted pig stuffed with chili, turmeric, garlic, and ginger.          To further promote its different cuisines, Bali will organize a three-day "Bali Interfood 2017" culinary exhibition from Thursday to Saturday on March 16-18, 2017.          The "Bali Interfood 2017" culinary exhibition is expected to boost the development of tourism in Bali, given that the food and beverage industry is one of the main tourism attractions.

INDONESIAN DELICACIES PROMOTED IN BEIJING, MOSCOW

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 11 (Antara) - One of the important factors that attract foreign tourists to visit a country is its culinary delicacy, which provides different selections of tastes and varieties for visitors to enjoy.         The cuisine of a country is part of the elements that support tourism of the country. In order to increase the arrivals of foreign tourists, Indonesia promotes its tourism by introducing its delicacies abroad, especially in China and Russia.          Tourism and culinary promotional activities were being organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, and a food festival was also held by the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow this week.         The Indonesian Embassy in Russia and Balkon, a top restaurant in an elite area of Novinskiy boulevard in Moscow, held the Indonesian Culinary Week from March 3 to 7.         During the culinary week, diners can enjoy typical Indonesian delicacies, such as fried rice, rending, and chicken noodle soup.

INDONESIA NEEDS TO STUDY THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF ITS PLANTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 11 (Antara) - Indonesia is one of the countries well-known for its herbal medicines used as alternatives to modern prescribed drugs, yet it needs to further study thousands of its herbal plants to reveal their medicinal properties.          The country is believed to have 30 thousand herbal plants, of which only 13 thousands have been used to produce medicinal herbs. But only a handful has been studied and is proven to have healing properties.          Hence, the country should continue to conduct studies on its herbal plants to reveal their healing properties. Many Indonesians prefer to take herbal medicines, locally known as 'jamu,' to avoid side effects of modern drugs, to cure ailments, or just maintain general health and fitness.          Although most of the country's medicinal herbs are yet to receive scientific recognition for their medicinal properties, jamu continues to attract consumers.          For example, in 2010, based on data provided by the Health Ministry's Research and Development Center, some 50 percent of the country's population used jamu to treat ailments.          Therefore, herbal medicines are very popular in Indonesia. The country has about 3 thousand kinds of jamu products that have long been used in popular alternative treatments for various health issues.

KPK NOT TO BE AFFECTED BY POLITICAL IMPACT IN E-KTP GRAFT TRIAL

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 9 (Antara) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will not be affected by the political impact of a graft trial over the procurement of identity cards (e-KTP) project for 2011-2012 period.           "Of course, we have not taken any political impact (in handling the case) into account, because the KPK's focus is to tackle this case in a legal manner," KPK Spokesman Febri Diansyah said, referring to the numerous big names mentioned in the prosecutor's indictment, at the KPK building here on Wednesday.           According to Diansyah, the KPK will focus on two defendants linked to the e-KTP graft case who will be tried in the court.           "We will continue to collect information, facts, and pieces of evidence. The KPK will handle this case as maximally as possible based on its authority. Therefore, the KPK will go on through the legal process based on its authority," Diansyah stated.           He added that KPK would proceed with the case on legal grounds. Regarding the political impact, he also stated that laws must be respected.       "Because this country is based on the law, we will proceed with the legal process based on the KPK authority," he added.

INDONESIA ATTENDS RISHIKESH FESTIVAL TO ATTRACT INDIAN TOURISTS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 8 (Antara) - Indonesia considers India as one of the potential market for promoting its tourism and to attract as many tourists as possible from that country.          Hence, when India organized the world's biggest International Yoga Festival (IYF) in Rishikesh from March 1 to 7, 2017, Indonesia did not want to lose the opportunity and sent its promotional campaign team.          Through its participation in the festival, the Ministry of Tourism expected to attract more Indian tourists this year. After all, the number of Indian tourists to various parts of the world reached some 22 million every year, of which only about 1.5 percent visit Indonesia.          Through its participation in the week-long Yoga festival, Indonesia hopes to attract at least 546 thousand Indian tourists this year.          "In 2016, the number of Indian tourists visiting Indonesia was recorded at 376,802. The number increased by 28 percent compared to that in 2015. India is one of the potential markets that need to be explored. A total of 22 million Indians make an overseas trip every year, but only about 1.5 percent of them visit Indonesia, "Deputy Secretary of International Tourism Marketing Development of the Ministry of Tourism, Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani, was quoted by Kompas.com as saying on Sunday (March 5).

KING SALMAN'S VISIT PROMOTES INDONESIAN TOURISM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 5 (Antara) - In the tourism sector, Indonesia can benefit from the visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in the country: attracting Saudi investment and increasing Middle-East tourist arrivals.          So far, Indonesia has not succeeded in exploiting the Middle East market. It is only a small market for the country's tourism, but the historical visit  is expected to serve as an effective promotion for the country.           The visit is also expected to attract Saudi investment in tourism apart  from other sectors, such as oil, gas, and public housing. According to Tourism Minister Arief Yahya,  Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in participating in the development of the tourism sector, notably  in West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.         "They have shown interest in West Nusa Tenggara and West Sumatra. This is our opportunity to continue to lobby the Middle East investors that are members of King Salman's delegation," the minister said referring to the current visit of King Salman in Indonesia from March 1 to March 9, 2017.

RI, SAUDI ARABIA SHOULD BOOST TRADE, INVESTMENT

     By Andi Abdussalam

    

  Jakarta, March 4 (Antara) - Indonesia and Saudi Arabia should boost their bilateral trade further, as their two-year trade has been declining in the past few years, while the Saudi investment in Indonesia has also dropped significantly last year.

        The visit this week by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and his 1.5 thousand delegates, including 10 ministers and 25 princes, is described as a golden opportunity for the two countries to further step up their economic cooperation in trade and investment.

        Between 2014 and 2015, the trade volume between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia had declined by 36 percent," President Joko Widodo was quoted as saying by Deputy Foreign Minister Abddurrahman M Fachir, while receiving the Saudi Shura Council in Mid-Feb.

        Based on the latest data, the trade volume of the two countries was recorded at US$5.48 billion in 2015, down to $3.39 billion in the Jan-Oct 2016 period.

         Investment by Saudi Arabia in Indonesia has also been declining. In 2016, direct foreign investment from Saudi Arabia amounted to only about $900 thousand, down from $30 million in 2015, according to data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

INDONESIANS ON WAITING LIST FOR 12 YEARS TO PERFORM HAJJ

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 3 (Antara) - Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its agreement on Wednesday to restore Indonesia's Hajj quota from 168,800 to 211 thousand and provided an additional quota of 10 thousand for the 2017 pilgrimage season.          Hence, for this year's season, Indonesia will have a total quota of 221 thousand. However, no further information is yet available on whether the quota of 221 thousand will also be extended to Indonesia for the coming years.      Saudi Arabia has reiterated its promise during the current state visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud to Indonesia.          The Saudi government had imposed a reduction of 20 percent in the Hajj quota of all countries in 2013 to facilitate the expansion project of the Masjidil Haram Mosque. After four years and the completion of the mosque's expansion project, the Saudi government has restored the previous quotas of all countries.          The report on the restoration of Indonesia's Hajj quota on Wednesday is merely a reaffirmation of the previous Saudi government's commitment to giving back the normal quota that was cut by 20 percent to 168,800 four years ago.

PERTAMINA EXPECTED TO EXPAND BUSINESS IN SAUDI ARABIA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 2 (Antara) - Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina is expected to expand business in aircraft fuel sale to Saudi Arabia and cooperate with Saudi firm Aramco in the development of oil refinery plants in Indonesia.          The expectation for Petamina to make investment in Saudi Arabia was expressed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) on Wednesday, amidst the ongoing visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Indonesia from March 1 to 9, 2017.          Witnessed by King Salman and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) Indonesia and Saudi Arabia signed 11 agreements in the form of memorandums of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, among others on development funding and civil aviation.          Director General of Oil and Gas of the ESDM Ministry, IGN Wiratmaja hoped that Pertamina would invest in Saudi Arabia, among others on aircraft fuel sale in that country.          "We will continue to encourage cooperation. It should not happen that only Saudi Arabia makes investment in Indonesia, but Indonesia, in this case Pertamina, should also expand aircraft fuel sale to Saudi Arabia," Wiratmaja said in a discussion at the Oil and Gas Building in Jakarta on Wednesday.