GOVT TO MANAGE HAJJ FUNDS WELL FOR IMPROVING SERVICE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 24 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is determined to improve the management of hajj funds amounting to Rp60 trillion  which are gathered from down payments of 1.5 million would-be hajj pilgrims now still on the pilgrimage waiting list.          The Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday on the utilization of the hajj funds for investment in the state sharia-based bonds (sukuk).          The memorandum signed on Friday was the second MoU agreed by the two ministries after they agreed to cooperate in the management of hajj funds in 2009.  Friday's MoU is expected to reap benefits by placing the funds under a securer, more transparent and accountable management.          According to Finance Minister Chatib Basri, the down payments of would-be hajj pilgrims deposited in the form of hajj funds continued to increase. After all, the number of new would-be pilgrims also continues to increase every year which now has reached about 1.5 million people.          This means that, under the basis of Indonesia's annual hajj quota of 211,000, the government will need more than seven years to finish sending the would-be pilgrims to the Holy Land.

GOVT URGED TO STOP CATTLE IMPORTS FROM AUSTRALIA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 22 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has been urged to end cattle imports from Australia, worth $12 billion annually, due to allegations that Australian intelligence agencies intercepted phone conversations of Indonesian officials.          "It is better for the government to stop its livestock imports from Australia as part of its protest against Australia's alleged wiretapping of phones of the Indonesian President and other senior state officials," Muhamad Azhari, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VI on trade affairs, said here on Friday.           Tensions between Indonesia and Australia increased after media reports that Australian intelligence agencies had wiretapped the private phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other senior officials.           As part of Indonesia's response, the President has ordered a halt to joint military exercises by both nations. President Yudhoyono has also temporarily suspended cooperation with Australia in a number of other fields, such as intelligence exchanges and military operations in the area of human trafficking, until an explanation is offered about the wiretapping.          It has also been reported that the Ministry of Trade is considering reviewing trade cooperation with Australia.

SUMATRA NEEDS TO QUICKEN ITS TOLL ROAD PROJECT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 22 (Antara) - One of the government's development agendas in Sumatra, as included in its master plan, is the construction of toll roads for accelerating the connecting of production centers and boosting the region's economic growth.          Sumatra urgently needs toll roads to provide alternatives for transportation of goods and people. The Trans Sumatra Highway, which stretches about 2,000 km from Aceh province in the western tip of Sumatra to Lampung province in the eastern section, could no longer handle the area's fast growing transportation.          Additionally, the Trans-Sumatra highway has deteriorated, as many sections are often damaged and need to be repaired every year,  causing delays in the transporting of goods and passengers to Java, and vice versa.          Thus, the government has included a Trans Sumatra Toll Road project, apart from electricity and seaports development, in its  MP3EI (Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development) projects in Sumatra.          Based on the plan, the Trans Sumatra Toll Road, spanning 2,000 km long from Bakauheni in the eastern part of Sumatra to Aceh in the western tip of the island, will be built at a cost of US$31.25 billion.          Scheduled for completion by 2025, the project is expected to help improve the flow of goods and transportation of the public, as well as help generate economic development on the islands of Java and Sumatra.

RI'S POPULATION GROWTH THREATENS ITS FOOD RESILIENCE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 16 (Antara) - An official has predicted that Indonesia's population will reach 400 million by 2030, posing a threat to the country's food resilience if the government fails to prepare programs to increase its crop production.          At present, Indonesia's population is estimated at 240 million. The growing population will boost demand for rice, which is the staple food of the Indonesian people. Based upon estimates from the Food Hope Pattern (PPH) concept, the current need for rice has reached 129 kg per capita per year.          With this calculation, the demand for rice for the Indonesian people currently stands at about 31 million tons per annum.      By 2030, Indonesia's population is expected to reach 400 million, so the need for rice and other food products will also increase. "By 2030, our population will increase by 160 million and our need for rice will increase by 66 percent, as compared to the current demand," Setyo Purwadi,  the head of North Sumatra's Food Resilience Agency (BKP), said on Saturday.          Setyo Purwadi noted that this population growth will threaten the country's food resilience, which is not being balanced by increases in food production.

RI ENCOURAGING INVESTMENTS IN PROMISING SHRIMP AQUACULTURE BUSINESS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 12 (Antara) - Many businesses are being encouraged to make investments in shrimp aquaculture, while the government carries out a revitalization program in the sector, which is seen as a promising business with good prospects for the future.          The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is encouraging its members to step up investment in shrimp cultivation to increase the country's shrimp production to meet overseas market demand.          Kadin Deputy Chairman Yugi Prayanto stated that Kadin was interested in developing a shrimp project because the price of shrimp was appreciating and because Indonesia was already using shrimp cultivation technology.          "Overseas demand for shrimp is showing an upward trend," Yugi Prayanto said on Monday, adding that Kadin was considering investing in the fishery cultivation sector, particularly in shrimp cultivation.          The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) had predicted that Thailand and China's demand for shrimps would remain high, and their domestic production was not enough to meet it. This would force the two countries to continue importing the commodity.

GOVT GIVING PROTECTION TO OVERSTAYING WORKERS IN SAUDI ARABIA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 8 (Antara) - The Indonesian government will continue to provide services and protection for Indonesian workers who have overstayed their residency permits in Saudi Arabia following the end of the amnesty provided by the Saudi government.          The assistance to workers will be provided by the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Jidda.      The Saudi government has provided amnesty for workers without valid permits and gave them a chance to attend to their travel documents in lieu of passports (SPLP) until November 3, 2013.          "Many Indonesians overstaying without permits have not yet completed attending to their SPLP because of complicated procedures at the Saudi Immigration Office. They applied for  legalized documents to go home or to  continue their work in that country," Tatang B Razak, director for Indonesian Citizen Protection Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a written statement.          Tatang made the statement amid a move by the Saudi government to launch raids on Indonesians working without permits, following the end of the amnesty. According to detiknews online media, on the first day of the raids, about 7,500 Indonesian workers had been apprehended.

KPU URGED TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, Nov 7 (Antara) - The General Elections Commission (KPU) has announced 186.6 million voters are eligible for next year's general elections, though some 10.4 million of them are still considered problematic.          On the KPU's eligible voters' list (DPT), some 10.4 million voters remain problematic because data which they need to become eligible for voting in the elections is still not complete, such as their citizenship identity numbers (NIK).          The KPU has decided to use the Home Affairs Ministry's List of Potential Voters (DP4) as the basis for deciding the DPT for next year's elections. It officially announced the DPT on Monday, even though some 10.4 million still have problems with the required data, such as the NIK.          Based on Law No. 8/2012, voters must have a NIK to be eligible for the 2014 general elections.          A researcher of the General Elections and Democracy Association (Perludem), a poll watchdog, said the General Election Commission should be transparent about the problem of 10.4 million voters included on the eligible voters' list.          "The KPU must be open and explain the 10.4 problematic voters. How many of them have no citizenship identity numbers (NIK), how many have double registrations and many other problems," Veri Junaidi of the Perludem said.