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.