VILLAGE ASSISTANTS TO MONITOR UTILIZATION OF VILLAGE FUNDS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 28 (Antara) - The government has allocated budget worth Rp60 trillion this year as village funds to help develop villages and disadvantaged regions and to finance labor-intensive programs in villages.          Some 30 percent of the Rp60 trillion will be channeled to fund the labor-intensive program in a bid to help improve the welfare of villagers. The government has also deployed some 39 thousand village assistants to facilitate the implementation of this program.          According to the Ministry of Village, Disadvantaged Region Development, and Transmigration (PDTT), the village assistants are tasked with providing information and guidance on the use of the funds for village development.          For the management of funds, the PDTT Ministry has also urged village assistants to promote and supervise the cash labor-intensive program in villages.       "Currently, PDTT Minister (Eko Putro Sandjojo) continues to visit villages to raise awareness on the use of village funds through the cash labor-intensive program, and we have also mobilized 39 thousand village assistant officials to oversee the utilization of village funds through the cash-for-work programs," Director General for Disadvantaged Areas Development of the PDTT Syamsul Widodo noted in Jakarta on Thursday (Feb 15).

GOVT TO COMPLETE FIRST PHASE OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCE DISTRIBUTION

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 27 (Antara) - The government that is committed to providing social assistance to at least 15 million underprivileged families this year has targeted to complete the first phase of distribution of the assistance scheme in February 2018.          In a bid to boost the prosperity of Indonesia's underprivileged families, the government has been implementing various schemes of social affairs assistance that it will distribute in four stages.          "We have set February 2018 as the deadline for completing the distribution of the first phase of the assistance," Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham noted while delivering the assistance in North Sumatra on Friday (Feb 23).          According to the minister, the government has also vowed to ensure that the assistance will reach the intended beneficiary families (KPM). He made this statement while handing over the same assistance in Cirebon, West Java, on Monday (Feb 25).          He said the government will ensure that all social assistance schemes, such as the Family Hope Program (PKH), Cashless Food Assistance (BPNT), and Rice Social Assistance (Rastra), reach the right KPM.          "I am assigned by the president to check directly whether the aid reaches the intended recipients (KPM). It should not happen that the eligible beneficiaries did not receive the assistance," Marham noted during the distribution of PKH and BPNT social assistance schemes in Cirebon District on Monday.

MORATORIUM ON TOLL ROADS EXPECTED TO END IN TWO WEEKS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 26 (Antara) - The government has issued a moratorium to temporarily stop the construction of 32 elevated roads, bridges, and Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects across the country, following the collapse of several infrastructure projects.          The construction work is temporarily halted pending thorough evaluation, which is expected to last for two weeks. The moratorium was announced by the government, through the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, on Feb 20, 2018.          "I have instructed that the construction work on all elevated sections of toll roads, LRT, and bridges should be halted beginning this morning. The Construction Safety Committee (KKK) will conduct an auditing," PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono told the press at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta on Tuesday (Feb 20).        The minister made the statement in connection with the collapse of a girder of the elevated Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Malayu (Becakayu) toll road project in Jakarta recently, injuring seven workers. A number of similar incidents have previously taken place in Indonesia.           Based on records, since Aug 1, 2017, until Feb 20, 2018, at least 14 projects underwent accidents in Jakarta, Palembang (South Sumatra), Bogor (West Java), Cikampek (West Java), Pasuruan (East Java), Pemalang-Batang (Central Java), and Depok (West Java).          The most serious one was the collapse of a girder launcher at the construction site of a quadruple railway project on Feb 4, 2018, in East Jakarta, killing four workers and injuring others.

INDONESIA INTENSIFIES WAR ON RAMPANT SMUGGLING OF DRUGS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 24 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized that Indonesia is one of the countries victimized by illegal drug trafficking from abroad and expressed concern over the huge number of drug addicts in the country.          At a limited cabinet meeting in September 2015, President Jokowi reminded that Indonesia was facing a major challenge of drug abuse due to which the country had witnessed 50 drug-related deaths every day.       "We are entering a state of drug emergency that has to be dealt with seriously," the president stated.          Drug smuggling has also shown an upward trend as indicated by the significant number of attempts being foiled by the authorities. On Friday (Feb 23), Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Muyani Indrawati expressed concern over the influx of illegal drugs into the country.           Indonesia's customs agency, in cooperation with other related agencies, has thwarted attempts to smuggle as much as five tons of methamphetamine.

GOVT GOES ALL OUT TO DOUBLE FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 22 (Antara) - The government, under President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), is resolved to advance the country's tourism sector by setting a target to increase foreign tourist arrivals by about 100 percent in five years in 2019.          The administration of Jokowi, who assumed the presidency in Oct 2014, has set the target of annual foreign tourist arrivals at 20 million in 2019 from 9.4 million in 2014.          Starting its tourism program in 2015, Jokowi's government set a tourist arrival target of 10 million in 2015 and succeeded to exceed the target, with 10.4 million tourists visiting the country that year.          In the following year, it was also successful in exceeding the 12 million target by recording arrivals of 12.02 million tourists based on data of the Tourism Ministry. Yet, the Central Bureau of Statistics noted that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in 2016 was only 11.52 million.          However, last year, the government failed to meet its 15 million visit target as it only booked 14.04 million foreign tourist arrivals.          Now, it has to work hard and make all-out efforts to meet its target of 17 million tourists this year and 20 million next year.

WIDODO EXPECTED TO SIGN LEGISLATIVE LAW SOON

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 21 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo is expected to soon sign the Legislative Law, locally known as MD3 Law, which has been approved by the House of Representatives (DPR) during its plenary session on Monday (Feb 12).         According to Bayu Dwi Anggono, who is the director of the Pancasila and Constitution Research Center of the Law Faculty of Jember University, the MD3 Law has several points, which have been rejected by the majority of the people.          However, the public cannot file a judicial review with the Constitution Court (MK) if the law has not yet been signed by the president and enacted into law.         "We hope the president will hear the aspirations of the majority of the public, which has rejected several points of the MD3 Law," Anggono was quoted as saying by Kompas.com on Wednesday (Feb 21).          The steps to be taken to follow up the public aspirations should be carried out through constitutional means and the country's state administration practices. Hence, according to Anggono, the president's move to avoid signing the MD3 Law immediately would hamper the public from filing a judicial review with the MK.

IPO CAN PREVENT POLEMICS AT FAMILY COMPANIES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 20 (Antara) - Transparency is one of the reasons why family companies are often reluctant to go public through the initial public offering (IPO) while in fact IPO can prevent polemics regarding share ownership at family companies.          According to the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), one of the obstacles faced by companies in conducting an IPO is their uncertainty with regard to becoming more transparent, considering that most Apindo members are family companies.          "I see that the obstacle faced is their hesitation in terms of transparency. They are a little less comfortable with the openness," Apindo Chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said in Jakarta on Tuesday (Feb 20).          They are worried about the transparency, for fear it would cause other problems since transparency will place the company under the public spotlight. In fact, going public would help prevent polemics at family firms.          The Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) is of the view that companies which conducted IPO would prevent polemics at family firms especially with regard to share ownership.

INDONESIA MUST HAVE CLEAR CONCEPT TO GO GREEN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 19 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is committed to developing environment-friendly energy as part of its efforts to go green and achieve a target of 23 percent renewable energy mix by 2025.         Development efforts in Indonesia must implement the Green Development or Green Economy concepts, which are in essence friendliness to the environment. However, the government should have a clear concept to achieve this target.         According to legislator Irawan Pasaribu of the House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission VII on environment affairs, the government must have a clear work plan to realize the target of utilizing green energy or renewable energy by 23 percent by 2025.         "One of the efforts that should be made is to support the development of new and renewable energy in potential areas such as West Sumatra," he said during a working visit to Padang, provincial capital of West Sumatra, on Monday.         Currently, according to him, the percentage of energy utilization is only about 12.5 percent, still far from the target of 23 percent.          Virtually, the government has been successful in achieving and exceeding its renewable energy mix target in 2017, after it failed to reach the environment-friendly energy target in 2015 and 2016.

INCLUSION OF COAL PRICE IN POWER TARIFF FORMULA RISKY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 17 (Antara) - The government is formulating a new electricity tariff scheme by including the coal reference price (HBA) as one of the elements in the calculation of the basic electricity rate.          The inclusion of the HBA in the new electricity tariff scheme is based on the consideration that some 60 percent of the nation's electricity will still be supplied by coal-fired power plants until 2026.          In its automatic three-monthly electricity tariff adjustment, the government has included three elements of Indonesian Crude Price (ICP), rupiah exchange rate, and inflation in its electricity tariff formula. With the new scheme, the government will reformulate the elements by including the HBA.          However, the inclusion of the HBA elements in the basic electricity tariff structure is considered to be risky and disadvantageous for the state-owned electricity firm PLN.          According to Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) Chairman Tulus Abadi, the discourse on the reformulation of the electricity tariff by including the price of coal as one of the reference elements is basically very risky if it still refers to the international price.

INDONESIA AIMS TO DEVELOP STARTUPS INTO UNICORN FIRMS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 15 (Antara) - Indonesia is upbeat at its potential to develop its startups into unicorn firms, a company with a valuation reaching US$1 billion.         The Ministry of Industry is optimistic about the potential of startups to become fast-growing firms. Therefore, it is partnering with startups to boost the growth of the manufacturing sector.         The government needs to collect data to develop these companies. As regards, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) will compile the data on the startups investment in the country.          The development of startups potential is evident in the development of Traveloka, Bukalapak, Go-jeck, and Tokopedia, which are online service and commerce firms. These firms are able to develop fast, with valuations reaching trillions of rupiah in a relatively short period.         Startups also have big potentials even in the education field. Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara, for example, said that startups in the field of education have the potential to become unicorn firms.         "We have to follow the potential to become a unicorn in Indonesia, first in the field of education," Rudiantara remarked at the Indonesia-Australia Digital Forum 2018 event in Jakarta on Thursday.

INDONESIA PREPARING SECURITY MEASURES FOR ASIAN GAMES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 14 (Antara) - Indonesia, which will be receiving about 3,200 athletes and officials from more than 40 countries, is preparing measures to ensure security when it hosts the biggest Asian sporting events next September.          Indonesia will organize the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and South Sumatran Province's capital city of Palembang from Sept 18 to Aug 2, 2018.         In order to provide security for foreign guests, the Indonesia Asian Games 2018 Organizing Committee  (INASGOC) will involve more than 30 thousand police personnel in four Regional Police Divisions. "The number of personnel to be deployed will be in accordance with security needs, including security in the game fields and non-match arena such as the athletes' homesteads and hotels," Deputy IV of INASGOC Senior Commissioner Unggul Sedyantoro, stated in Jakarta on Tuesday (Feb 13).          The four regional police divisions which will be involved in securing the implementation of the Asian Games in August are Polda Metro Jaya (Jakarta Regional Police), South Sumatra Regional Police, West Java Regional Police, and Banten Regional Police.

TRAWL FISHERMEN TO GET DEBT RESTRUCTURING

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 13 (Antara) - The government is encouraging trawl fishermen to switch to using environment-friendly fishing gears in an effort to promote sustainable exploitation of fish resources.          As part of its efforts to encourage fishermen to switch to using environment-friendly fishing gears, the government promises to facilitate those having bad credits to get debt restructuring from banks.          The use of trawlers enables fishermen to catch more fish but they significantly damage the environment since they not only trap consumable fish but also the small fish, young crabs, and coral reefs.          In the long run, the use of trawls will lead to the extinction of fish and other marine biota, which will in turn pose difficulties to the fishermen to catch fish as their main source of income.          Trawls could net several types of fish of varying sizes, thereby running counter to the principle of sustainability and the Indonesian fishery policy.          To safeguard and preserve marine resources, the government has issued a regulation through Maritime and Fisheries (KKP) Minister's decree Number 1/PERMEN-KP/2015 which bans the use of trawlers in fishing.

ATTACKS ON RELIGIOUS LEADERS AIM TO CREATE INSTABILITY

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 12 (Antara) - The spate of attacks on religious leaders is believed to be an attempt by perpetrators to incite interfaith hatred and create instability in the run-up to the simultaneous regional head elections this year.         In recent weeks, religious leaders have been the target of several attacks, such as the assault of a Muslim cleric in Cicalengka followed by another incident of violence against the activists of Islamic Unity in Bandung, West Java, and a case of violence against a Buddhist monk in Tangerang, Banten.        The latest attack was reported on Sunday (Feb 11) on the Santa Lidwina church in Bedog, Sleman District, Yogyakarta, following which three people were rushed to the hospital.          Advisory Council Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council Din Syamsuddin expressed concern over the incidents, saying the violence against religious leaders could be premeditated acts as part of a plan to create instability.          "The events seem to be controlled by a systemic scenario aimed at spreading fear and conflict between religious adherents and ultimately creating national instability," Syamsuddin noted in Jakarta on Sunday (Feb 11).

EXPERTS EXPECT INDONESIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH TO CONTINUE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb. 9 (Antara) - Indonesia has continued to record an increasing economic growth over the last three years and it is being hoped that the country will maintain this trend.          To that end, the Indonesian government should continue to explore "driving machines" in order to boost the country's economic growth even further, such as offering attractive investment and tourism opportunities, experts have stated.          According to economist Professor Dr. Elfindri of the Padang-based University of Andalas, although the Indonesian economy has improved, yet the growth is slightly lesser compared with that during the administration of former president Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono.          Elfindri argued that among other factors, Indonesia's economic growth was triggered by the end of economic recession in Europe and the improving economy of the United States (US).          "The end of economic recession in the US as well as Indonesia also encouraged economic growth in China," Elfindri said, when contacted by Antara from Pekanbaru on Friday.          He made the statement in response to a query about Indonesia's economic growth trend as showed by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), which stated that the country recorded an economic growth of 4.88 per cent in 2015, which grew to 5.03 per cent in 2016. In 2017, the economy grew by 5.07 per cent, the highest growth since 2014.

GOVT PLAN TO CUT TITHE FROM SALARIES STIRS CONTROVERSIES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 8 (Antara) - The government's plan to deduct 2.5 percent zakat (tithe) directly from the salaries of Muslim State Civil Apparatus (ASN) has triggered controversies.          Regulation on the plan is being discussed at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but some quarters have suggested that the plan be postponed, as there are many questions that should be solved in the first place.          The government should build public or zakat payers' trust on institutions managing the tithe funds. It should also make it clear on how to calculate civil servants' income to decide on the portion which is subject to zakat. There are two aspects for the income to be subject to zakat, namely the nisab (minimum amount) and the haul (the length of one-year period) aspects.          After all, the portion of income that is subject to zakat is the income after deduction for (the zakat payers¿) basic needs, debts, and operational spending. This portion should meet the nisab and haul aspects before it could be categorized as subject to zakat.         "How could the government calculate the amount of income of ASN, after deduction for basic needs, debts, and work operation cost, and decide the portion that is subject to profession zakat," Saiful Jihad, academician of the University of Hasanuddin in Makassar, South Sulawesi, stated on Thursday.

CONSUMERS DESERVE SPEEDY INFORMATION ON PORK-TAINTED GOODS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 6 (Antara) - Indonesia's predominantly Muslim consumers deserve immediate information about any finding on pork-tainted products, because based on their faith, they are not allowed to consume goods containing pork.          According to the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), if a product is found to have a problem, it should be made public soon, so that the people would be aware of it. "This is part of the protection for consumers," YLKI Chairman Tulus Abadi stated in Jakarta on Monday.          The YLKI chairman made the statement in response to a recent announcement by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) that Viostin DS food supplement and Enzyplex tablet contained pork derivatives.          The drug and food supervisory agency's announcement was considered late, as it had disclosed the matter to the public only two months after it found that Voistin DS and Enzyplex tablet contained pork derivatives. According to the consumer foundation, BPOM should have immediately announced its finding that Viostin DS and Enzyplex Tablet contained pig DNA.

ONLINE TAXI REGULATION TO ENCOURAGE INVESTORS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 5 (Antara) - The government has begun enforcing a law on app-based taxi service as part of its efforts to regulate fair business between online and conventional taxi services and to encourage investors in the transportation sector.         Implemented since Thursday last week (Feb 1), Transportation Ministerial Decree No. 108 of 2017 (PM 108/2017) on public transportation service without fixed routes had been formulated in a fair manner. It is expected that the regulation would not discourage investors and not harm the interests of ride-hailing and conventional tax services.         Hence, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi had noted on Friday (Jan 2) that apart from protecting the rights of ride-hailing taxi drivers, PM 108/2017 also aims to maintain the competitive edge of businesses in the transportation sector amid Indonesia's all-out efforts to attract investors.          "The most important aspect is that the rights of app-based taxi drivers will be protected. It should not happen that this regulation reduces the competitive edge of transportation services," Minister Sumadi stated after a meeting with Minister of Communications and Information Technology Rudiantara on Friday (Feb 2).

GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONTROL FOOD PRICES TO KEEP INFLATION LOW

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 3 (Antara) - The government needs to control the prices of volatile food items to keep inflation low based on its set target range of 2.5-4.5 percent in 2018.          After having successfully lowered the country's 2017 inflation rate to 3.61 percent, or below its target of 4.3 percent, the government is determined to keep this year's inflation rate within the 2.5-4.5 percent range.          According to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the government was able to lower the inflation rate in 2017 to below its predicted figure owing to its efforts to control the fluctuations in the prices of volatile food items.          Hence, the government should continue to control food price volatility to keep the inflation rate low this year. This holds significance, as food items had contributed 2.34 percent to the January 2018 inflation. The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) had recorded that inflation in January 2018 was 0.62 percent, bringing the year-on-year inflation to 3.25 percent.          "Rice was the biggest contributor to January's inflation, adding 0.24 percent to the inflation," BPS Chief Suhariyanto noted at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday (Feb 1).          The other food items that contributed to the inflation were purebred chicken meat, at 0.07 percent; fresh fish, 0.05 percent; bird eye's chili, 0.04 percent; and red chili, 0.03 percent, he noted.

INDONESIA TO FURTHER IMPROVE ITS EXPORT PERFORMANCE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 3 (Antara) - Indonesia will continue to boost its exports following success achieved in improving its export performance in 2017 after years of sluggish markets.          In a bid to increase exports, the government will continue to promote Indonesia's products and expand its markets to non-traditional destination countries. Moreover, the government will evaluate the performance of its trade promotion centers.          Last year, Indonesia was able to book an export growth of 19.8 percent, exceeding its growth target of 5.6 percent. According to the Trade Ministry's records, total exports have increased from US$145.2 billion in 2016 to $168.73 billion last year.          Of the $168.73 billion worth of exports last year, the manufacturing sector contributed $125 billion, or some 76 percent.          "One of the important factors to spur industrial growth is easy access to expand both domestic and foreign markets. If the market is used optimally, production can be increased maximally," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto noted in a statement released on Wednesday.          Hence, the government will give priority to the development of export-oriented industries in a bid to boost the country's economic growth.