INDONESIA, INDIA STEP UP BILATERAL TIES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 30 (Antara) - Indonesia and India are currently moving ahead to intensify bilateral ties in various fields, including stepping up cooperation to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership and seeking realization of cooperation in concrete fields.          Efforts to increase cooperation in various fields are currently being discussed between the leaders of both countries amid the current visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Indonesia on May 29-31, 2018.           "Now is the time for Indonesia (and India) to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership. Comprehensive strategic partnership must include concrete cooperation that can only be formulated through increased engagement, including at the leaders' level," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) remarked during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.           President Jokowi received the Indian prime minister, who arrived at the Merdeka Palace at 10:15 a.m. local time.           In order to enhance cooperation, the two countries need to cement a comprehensive strategic partnership by working harder for a mutually beneficial relationship.

PEOPLE HOPE FOR STABLE COMMODITY PRICES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 28 (Antara) - The people hope the government will be able to control prices of basic necessities and maintain stocks in the current fasting month and ahead of Eid-el-Fitr or Lebaran festivities.          The House Speaker, Bambang Soesatyo, has asked the government to monitor and respond to the price situation in various regions in the run-up to the Lebaran festivities.          "The prices of basic necessities have begun to rise, when people are fasting in the current Ramadan month and preparing to welcome the Lebaran celebrations," Bambang Soesatyo said in a written statement on Sunday.          Soesatyo, who is popularly called Bamsoet, said the government should immediately review the markets, secure stocks and control prices.          "Currently, the prices of basic necessities such as beef, chicken and egg have started to rise," he pointed out.          Prices of shallots, curly peppers, and cayenne peppers had also inched up. The trend should be monitored because during Ramadan and Lebaran public consumption increased, he said.

GOVERNMENT TO FOCUS ON STABILIZING RUPIAH

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 26 (Antara) - The Indonesian government, through the Finance Ministry and the central bank (Bank Indonesia/BI), will do its best to stabilize the rupiah, which has from early this year continued to weaken, reaching Rp14,200 per US dollar.          Based on data from the central bank, the rupiah had lost much of its value, weakening 4.53 percent until May 21, 2018 (year to date), hitting the lowest level since 2015.          Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati promised that the government will work together with BI to overcome the weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar.          "The government, together with BI, will continue to maintain the economic stability and maintain our rupiah currency," she stated in Sukoharjo District, Central Java, on Saturday.              She noted that several strategies have been undertaken by BI to stabilize the rupiah exchange rate, one of which is by raising its benchmark interest rate.          "This step is expected to strengthen the rupiah against the US dollar, while the government will maintain the state budget discipline," she added.          BI has raised its benchmark interest 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 percent, hoping to prop up the currency.

HOSTS READY TO ENSURE SECURITY FOR ASIAN GAMES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 25 (Antara) - Security is a very important issue for foreigners in a country hosting an international event like the 18th Asian Games.          Hence, Jakarta and Palembang will ensure the 3,200 foreign athletes and officials from more than 40 countries feel secure and can concentrate on the competition.          The Indonesia Asian Games 2018 Organizing Committee (INASGOC) will involve more than 30,000 police personnel in four regional divisions --  Polda Metro Jaya (Jakarta Regional Police), South Sumatra Regional Police, West Java Regional Police, and Banten Regional Police.          The number of personnel to be deployed will depend on the security needs, including at event venues and non-competition arenas such as the athletes' hotels.      INASGOC is also working with TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces) Headquarters, especially the women's corps of the Army, Navy and Air Force.          "We are committed to ensuring security in the Jakarta area during the 2018 Asian Games," said the Deputy Governor of Jakarta, Sandiaga Uno, on May 14.

GOVT'S PREPARATIONS FOR 'LEBARAN' TRAVELERS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 21 (Antara) - 'Mudik' which means going hometown is the most popular word in Indonesia during the post-fasting Eid el-Fitr or Lebaran festivities.          Most urban dwellers, workers or traders in big cities originate from hometowns where they still have relatives, friends or even family members.          So, mudik to hometowns to have annual reunions with families or friends is a 'must' for them after they have performed fasting rituals during the Ramadan month.          Millions of Lebaran travelers usually pack home-bound public transportation like trains, buses, private cars, motorcycles and even airplanes. Especially on roads, traffic gridlocks are often inevitable in certain sections.          As Java is Indonesia's most crowded island, the government is giving special attention to transportation facilities in Java to serve Lebaran travelers. In order to facilitate home-bound exodus, the government has made adequate preparations to minimize traffic congestion.          Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said, for the flow of Lebaran travelers in 2018, his side has made adequate preparations and has coordinated with the relevant ministries and security forces.

RUPIAH'S DEPRECIATION SHOULD NOT AFFECT VILLAGE FUNDS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 19 (Antara) - Funds allocated by the government to develop villages should not be reduced due to the depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar currency.           Member of Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR) G. Michael Jeno remarked that the strengthening of the US dollar against the rupiah must not lead to a reduction in the amount of funds transferred from the central government to the region, especially those for the village development program.           "The implication of the dollar's appreciation is huge. If the value of the dollar is already over Rp14 thousand, it will affect the state budget as the assumption of the dollar in the state budget is set at Rp13,400. There is a big difference of about Rp600, so it must be discussed at a meeting on the 2018 revised budget (APBNP)," Jeno noted on Wednesday.           The rupiah exchange rate at the closing of the interbank transaction in Jakarta on Friday afternoon weakened by 99 points to Rp14,144 as compared to the previous position of Rp14,045 per US dollar.           According to legislator Mukhammad Misbakhun of the Golkar Faction of the DPR, the village fund program is strategic to develop villages. It is in line with President Joko Widodo's Nawacita development priority program, which among others, aims to carry out development from the frontier, outermost, and remote areas.

REFUELING STATIONS TO SELL PREMIUM GASOLINE AGAIN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 19 (Antara) - The lower quality Research Octane Number 88 (R0N-88) Premium gasoline will come back to gasoline refueling stations (SPBU) in Jakarta and other regions in Java, Madura and Bali (Jamali).         According to Acting President Director of state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, a total of 1,926 SPBUs will serve consumers in Jamali again after stopping selling premium for a few years.         The government, through Presidential Regulation No. 191 Year of 2014, has regulated that the  subsidized or Public Service Obligation Premium gasoline is only sold in regions outside Jamali. Premium sold in Jamali is no longer subsidized.         Since then, Premium has disappeared in many SPBUs in Jamali. At the same time state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina introduced to consumers its relatively better quality gasoline, the RON-90 Pertalite.         The basic idea of restricting the sale of subsidized Premium in Jamali is to encourage the financially capable consumers to migrate to non-subsidized fuels, which relatively has better quality such as Pertalite, Pertamax, and Pertamax Turbo.         However, the government has decided to bring back Premium to refueling stations in Jamali. After all, it has been successful in encouraging consumers to migrate to Pertalite and other higher quality fuels.

TERRORIST ATTACKS YET TO AFFECT TOURISM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 17 (Antara) - The attack incidents by terrorists in Indonesia in recent days have yet to affect the tourism industry in the country.          According to Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, no foreign tourists has cancelled plan to visit Bali, the country's most popular tourist resort province.          A series of suicide bomb attacks on certain targets has taken place at three churches in Surabaya, on Sunday (May 13) followed by another suicide attack on the regional police headquarters in the East Java provincial capital on Monday.          The Surabaya suicide bombings left 22 people dead, including 10 terrorists. On Wednesday, May 16, another terrorist attack happened at Riau Police Headquarters. Four terrorists were shot dead, however.         Will these terror acts affect Indonesian tourism? Tourism analyst Chusmeru of Puwokerto's University of Jenderal Soedirman, said that the tourism sector is a service industry which is very sensitive to security disturbance.         "The tragedy of bomb terror, for example, could have an impact on the tourism sector in the country, given the service industry is sensitive to security issues," he said in Purwokerto on Wednesday.

RI'S ECONOMY RELATIVELY NOT AFFECTED BY BOMB ATTACKS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 15 (Antara) - The successive two day bomb attacks that left 22 people dead, including 10 suicide bombers in Surabaya on Sunday and Monday did not significantly affect the Indonesian economy.          According to Rino Donosepoetro, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia, the suicide bomb attacks in Surabaya would not seriously affect Indonesia's economic growth. "The bomb attack is verily deplorable. I am convinced the people in Indonesia are already mature and the incident will not seriously affect Indonesia's economy which we have predicted that it will increase," Donosepoetro said on Monday.          He is of the view that the suicide bombings would not cause a setback in the Indonesian economy, expressing his optimism that the Indonesian economic fundamental is very strong.          On Sunday and Monday (May 13-14), East Java was rocked by suicide bomb attacks, killing 22 people, including 10 attackers.  The bomb attacks took place at three churches on Sunday morning and at the Surabaya Police Headquarters on Monday.

VARIOUS QUARTERS CONDEMN BOMB ATTACKS ON CHURCHES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 13 (Antara) - The terror attacks on three churches that left 13 people dead and 43 others wounded in Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday were strongly condemned by various quarters.            President Joko Widodo condemned the church attacks and called on the public to remain calm. He desribed the acts of terror as barbarious. "All citizens should remain calm and vigilant,"  he told a press conference at Dr. Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya after visiting survivors of the terror attacks.         "The acts of terror is really barbaric and beyond humanity. It causes the fall of victims from members of community and innocent children," said the President.          Chairman of the Indonesian largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)  Said Aqil Siradj also condemned the suicide bombing of the three churches. "We condemn all acts of terrorism, whatever the motive and background," he said.           He said all sorts of acts using violence, let alone in the name of religion by spreading terror, hatred and violence, are not  Islamic teachings. "Islam condemns all forms of violence, and there is not even a single religion in the world that justifies violence," he said.

PROBLEM BEHIND DETENTION CENTRE RIOT MUST BE REVEALED

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 10 (Antara) - The riot between security forces and terror inmates at the detention center of the National Police's Mobile Brigade Headquarters (Mako Bromob) in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, on Tuesday night is a grave concern.          It is an incident which is gravely saddening, especially for the police force, as five of its members were killed. Therefore, the police need to find the reason behind the tragedy.          According to reports, the riot broke out when several terror convicts, occupying a number of detention blocks, quarreled with police officers over food.         Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Law Practitioners (Alpha), Azmi Syahputra, assessed that the riot was not merely a matter related to food, and there was a bigger problem that needs to be revealed.         "The matter related to food that caused the quarrel is merely a trigger. There must be a bigger problem behind the incident. Police must investigate it comprehensively to find the main problem," Syahputra, who is also a lecturer of Criminal Law of Bung Karno University (UBK), told Antara in Jakarta on Thursday.         He mentioned that the actions of the prisoners were a form of deliberate move, and they must have previously made preparations to do something, considering the right circumstances and time.

PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RUPIAH DEPRECIATION

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 9 (Antara) - The government and the people, especially businesses, should be able to take advantage of the rupiah depreciation that has been taking place in the past few weeks.         Despite its risky impact, the weakening of rupiah also has positive effects, which offers advantage for exports by increasing the competitive edge of local products in the global market.         For the first time since December 2015, the rupiah broke the psychological level of Rp14 thousand per dollar on Monday. It traded at Rp14,003 per dollar in the spot market. The Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate announced by Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank) on Tuesday showed that the rupiah weakened to Rp14,036 per dollar.         The rupiah fell again by 50 points to trade at Rp14,043 per dollar in the interbank spot market on Tuesday afternoon from the previous Rp13,993.         It fell 30 points to Rp14,073 per dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market on Wednesday morning after it closed at Rp14,043 per dollar earlier.

EYEING BUSINESS POTENTIAL IN LAOS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 5 (Antara) - Laos is an ASEAN member country in the heart of the Indochinese region, which has economic potentials and is opening up itself for cooperation with other countries.         Fellow ASEAN countries and other nations, such as China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, are now competing to expand businesses in Laos.         Indonesia, through the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) and Investment Coordinating Board, is holding a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Exhibition and Planetarium Walk in Laos on May 5 and 6, 2018, in an effort to utilize the market in Laos.         "The role of UKM is increasingly important. In Indonesia, SME is one of the most important pillars of the Indonesian economy," Interim Charge d'Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy in Laos, A. Firman Arif W. Soepalal, remarked while opening the exhibition at the Vientiane Center, Laos, on Saturday.         Indonesian investors should capitalize on business opportunities in Laos. Held at the Vientiane Center, one of the main malls in Laos, the fair was designed to make Indonesian investors realize that Laos offers various business opportunities that could be cultivated, Soepalal stated.

GROSS SPLIT SCHEME ENCOURAGES INVESTMENT IN OIL

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 5 (Antara) - The government has changed its production sharing contract (PSC) scheme in its cooperation with contractors (KKKS) in the oil and gas exploration business in the country.          It has introduced the adoption of the Gross Split PSC scheme, replacing the Cost Recovery PSC system, claiming that the investment process has become smoother and many oil working areas have received investment from contractors.          "It is not true that there is only one contractor who has made investment through the gross split system. Since January 2017, up until early in May 2018, there have been 16 working areas that have received investment using the gross split scheme," Agung Pribadi, the head of Information and Public Cooperation of the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry, said in Jakarta on Friday (May 4).          He made the statement clarifying that the gross split scheme did not discourage businesses to make investment in the oil and gas sector.

INDONESIAN WORKERS DEMAND REJECTION OF UNSKILLED EXPATRIATES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 1 (Antara) - Thousands of workers took to the street on Tuesday to observe May Day and voice their aspirations, including rejection of unskilled foreign workers, demand for wage increase, lowering of prices, and abolition of outsourcing system.         Workers holding rallies across the country represented different labor organizations and alliances, such as Indonesian Workers Unions Confederation (KSPI) and alliances grouped under the Labor Movement for the People.         During peaceful rallies held by the Indonesian Workers Unions Confederation in 25 provinces on Tuesday, the workers expressed their objection to the entry of blue-collar or yellow-hat expatriates into Indonesia.         They put forth at least three important demands, namely reduction in the prices of rice, electricity, and fuel; rejection of low wages; as well as the rejection of yellow-hat foreign workers from China.         Basically, the call for rejection of yellow-hat expatriates was based on their fear of being sidelined. After all, Indonesia still has to provide employment for more than seven million jobless workers. Local workers are concerned that foreign workers would take away their jobs.