VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reminded that investment is the anchor of recovery for the economy that has been declining due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jokowi delivered the statement during the opening of the 2021 National Coordination Meeting and Investment Service Award here on Wednesday, as seen during a virtual broadcast.

"Investment is the anchor of economic recovery, because the state budget for all countries is the same. It is hard, (everyone experiences) deficit, all (areas experience) deficits," Jokowi explained.

The president noted that all countries harbor a common concern regarding the deficit, especially if the deficit is returned to normal conditions, then there will be pressure again.

"This pandemic has had an impact everywhere, really. In all areas, there are (effects). Together, imagine, tens of thousands of trillions are (restrained) together because (we) want to return to a normal deficit again. This is also worrisome, yet there is no calculation," he added.

The president emphasized that Indonesia could not rely or focus exceedingly on the State Budget, and to this end, he had also urged the finance minister to exercise caution in managing the State Budget.

“Hence, what is beyond the state budget must be activated. Back again, to investment,” he stressed.

He also lauded the ministries, agencies, and regions that received awards pertaining to investment and licensing matters. Jokowi reminded all stakeholders to always provide best services so as to make it easier for the people to invest.

The president is keen that all investors, small or large, receive the best service and treatment. If it was necessary, he even called for the necessary documents for investors to be delivered at their doorstep, as a form of best service that he had earlier highlighted.

Jokowi believes that investors were not guaranteed to come despite a well-executed investment service, let alone if it was terrible. Hence, only the best service must be offered, so as to entice them.

The president deems investment important for the sake of economic growth. The government is seeking the multiplier effects of investments, such as new job opportunities, purchasing power, and circulation of money among members of the public. (Antaranews)

 The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) affirmed that the Indonesia national football team would have 30 players when it competes in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship 2020 in Singapore, PSSI's Chief Mochamad Iriawan stated.

"In accordance with the result of the meeting with LIB (the league organizer PT Liga Indonesia Baru), there will be additional players from the club as requested by the national team coach Shin Taeyong," he informed.

At PSSI's building here on Tuesday (Nov 23), Iriawan noted that the Indonesia national football team, with 23 members, was in the middle of a training in Turkey.

Earlier, the national team had 25 members. However, two members -- Elkan Baggott and Egy Maulana Vikri -- returned to their respective clubs: Ipswich Town (England) and Fk Senica (Slovakia).

Tae-yong also called out the name of Syahrian Abimanyu, though he was unable to join the rest of the team in Turkey due to injury.

Baggot will perform during the AFF Championship 2020, while Vikri still awaits permission from his club and Abimanyu is recovering from his injury.

"For Egy, we hope that his club would grant their permission because it is important for the Indonesia national football team to be able to reach its target at the AFF Championship," Iriawan remarked.

In addition to practicing, the Indonesia national football team also participated in two FIFA friendly games matches.

The first match was against Afghanistan on November 16, 2021, which ended with a defeat for Indonesia, with the score of 1-0. The team's second match will be against Myanmar on Thursday.

After Turkey, the national team will depart for Singapore to compete in the AFF Championship 2020.

During the tournament, Indonesia will join the B Group along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos.

Indonesia will have its premiere match on December 9, 2021, facing off against Cambodia and then Laos on December 12, 2021.

Three days later, the national team will compete against Vietnam and Malaysia on December 19, 2021. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) drew attention of all regional heads regarding the Rp226 trillion of the 2021 budget that had yet to be absorbed by the regional governments by the end of 2021.

"This morning, I check with the finance minister to see how much money is still in the bank. It is already the end of November, only a month away from the end of 2021. In October, the amount was Rp 170 trillion, and now, it has increased to Rp 226 trillion," Jokowi stated while opening the 2021 National Coordination Meeting and Investment Service Award on Wednesday.

He urged all regional heads to maximize the budget before looking for funding from investors. The president pointed to the too high amount of unspent money reaching Rp 226 trillion.

President Jokowi also stated that the current state budget (APBN) deficit has reached Rp548 trillion.

"Some of the APBN, reaching as much as Rp 642 trillion, was transferred to the regions for the provinces, districts, and cities. The money is ready to be used for all regions," he told the regional heads.

With a large budget, Jokowi has urged local governments to utilize the funds optimally.

"Ministries, regional governments, and all of us must let go of our sectoral egos. We must harbor the same aspirations to advance their regions and Indonesia," he stated.

Jokowi also lauded several ministries, institutions, provincial governments, and district and city governments that received awards for investment, both investment realization and licensing permits.

"Central Java had a good licensing service, while West Java had a good investment realization. We must combine these two to attract more investors," he affirmed.

Jokowi urged all regional heads to forego old service habits and suggested putting an end to discrimination in public services.

"Please give the best service when it comes to licensing permits, be it small investors or big investors. Do not discriminate. All permits must be free of charge," he added.

The president also urged regional heads to set targets for the One-Stop Integrated Service (PTSP) within a year.

"For instance, give 10 thousand free permits for small businesses. If they already have permits, it can be easy for them to get funding. Please bear in mind that small businesses are also our investors, and we must serve them well," Jokowi noted.

With the presence of investors in the regions, Jokowi believes they will help to increase money circulation.

"If investors come, it will increase money circulation in the area. It means that the people's purchasing power will also increase, public consumption will increase, and economic growth will increase as well, that is our main goal," he concluded. (Antaranews)

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 5 million lives and infected over 250 million people globally, has provided great collaboration opportunities for building a stronger international health system, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.

“We should not let the crisis continue and become increasingly worrying," Sadikin emphasized at an international webinar titled ‘Global and Regional Collaboration for Strengthening Health System Resilience Toward Health Security’, accessed from here on Tuesday.

The pandemic has taught each country to strengthen international collaboration for improving regional and global health systems as well as establishing health system resilience to protect future generations from potential crises, he said.

Hence, Indonesia will invite all countries to rebuild the global health system at the next G20 Presidency, he added.

"We will emphasize three priority health issues amid the Presidency," the minister informed.

First, in building a resilient global health system, it must be ensured that the emergency funding mechanism is accessible to all countries so that every country can get immediate technical and logistical support amid a pandemic, he said.

The second one is establishing a standard global health protocol based on an information system that is able to quickly and effectively respond to a pandemic, he added.

Meanwhile, the last issue concerns encouraging product diversification and technology transfer in the medical sector, he said.

Furthermore, to overcome the pandemic, it is important to pay attention to the production and distribution of medical products so that every country can have equal access to vaccines as well as diagnostic and treatment devices, Sadikin added.

"In reconstructing the global health system, we must uphold the principles of accountability, equality, and solidarity," he remarked.

He said he expected the international webinar – held to commemorate the 2021 National Health Day -- to be a discussion and sharing platform to prepare for stronger collaboration.

“We should not waste our time anymore. Let's turn this crisis into an opportunity. Let's work together to prepare a better world for our next generations if any crisis arises in the future," he added.

Several topics were discussed at the webinar such as the COVID-19 epidemiological update, the implementation of the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED), strategies to strengthen ASEAN regional health security, as well as each country’s experiences in handling the pandemic.

Program area manager, country health emergency preparedness, and international health regulations (IHR) of WHO, Masaya Kato; head of the health division of the ASEAN Secretariat, Ferdinal Moreno Fernando; and acting director general of disease prevention and control at the Indonesian Health Ministry, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, also spoke at the webinar.  (Antaranews)