VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, has urged all parties involved in the implementation of the 2021 Mandalika World Superbike (WSBK) to comply with the health protocols to curb coronavirus transmission.

"We ask all stakeholders to completely comply with the health protocols which have been set to protect yourself from COVID-19 transmission," he remarked at a press conference monitored online here on Thursday.

He said he hoped that the international racing event at Mandalika Circuit, Central Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara province, will run well without any spike in COVID-19 cases.

It is important to maintain Indonesia’s success in organizing huge sporting events, such as the XX Papua National Sports Week (PON) and XVI Papua National Paralympics Week (Peparnas) a while ago, Adisasmito said.

“It is important to maintain large-scale activities to run safely with low risk of COVID-19 transmission, thus they can help to recover the regional economy," he emphasized.

Regarding domestic travel regulations, currently, travelers will need to refer to Circular Letter of the COVID-19 Task Force Number 22 of 2021, which has been made with an eye on the dynamic development of COVID-19 cases, he informed.

If necessary, the policy can be adjusted by advancing measures to anticipate any new transmission as soon as possible, he said.

"The government is trying to conform current policies as soon as possible without abandoning the precautionary cause, thus the new policies can be implemented effectively," Adisasmito remarked.

In addition, the government is aware of the potential for a spike in COVID-19 cases during the Christmas and New Year holidays, he said.

Thus, he warned that an increase in community mobility during the period could potentially increase the transmission of COVID-19, if health protocols are not strictly conducted. (Antaranews)

State-run gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) Tbk has the capability to support the energy transition process through ensuring gas supply availability and mature infrastructure, its president director has affirmed.

This is in line with the government's policy to increase the use of clean energy to meet the zero-emission target by 2060, Muhamad Haryo Yunianto said in a statement received here on Thursday.

In the near term, the company will continue to improve its infrastructure and increase natural gas supply sources, he informed.

With up to 23 percent use of renewable energy targeted by 2025 under the energy mix policy, there is potential for an increase in natural gas demand, he noted.

"As part of the business development plan, PGN has integrated its infrastructure in the northern and central part of Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, and East Java to improve the reliability and flexibility of gas distribution to all market segmentation. This integrated infrastructure development will become our priority," Yunianto said in a public expose sheet published on Wednesday (November 17, 2021).

PGN's projects that are currently in progress include the construction of the Senipah-Balikpapan pipeline to support the Refinery Development Master Plan project of the Balikpapan refinery using natural gas resources in East Kalimantan, he informed.

Another project is the optimization of the Gresik-Semarang pipeline with beyond-the-pipe infrastructure, he said.

PGN is also undertaking LNG and mini LNG regasification to meet demand in central and eastern Indonesia, especially for state-run electricity firm's power generators, Yunianto said.

Director of sales and operation, Faris Aziz, said PGN's natural gas sales have continued to increase to reach 873 BBTUD (Billion British Thermal Unit per Day) as of September 2021, reflecting a growth of 8 percent compared to the same period of 2020.

The company is projected to channel 30 BBTUD of gas to the Balongan refinery in Indramayu, he added.

Cooperation with several refineries in the country is projected to absorb up to 350 BBTUD within the next 2-3 years, he said.

As of September 2021, PGN has booked revenue of US$2.25 billion (Rp32.04 trillion) and a net profit of US$286 million, or Rp4.07 trillion, he informed. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian government is making a strong push for the quicker adoption of electric vehicles in the country, director general of land transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, Budi Setiyadi, has said.

"What the government is currently pushing is public motorized vehicles and government vehicles. For public motorized vehicles, the government is targeting online transportation provider platforms such as Grab, Gojek, and Maxim," he informed at a virtual event on Thursday.

To expedite the adoption of electric vehicles, the government is not only conducting type testing, but also converting conventional motorcycles into electric motorcycles, he said.

Currently, Indonesia has four workshops in Jakarta and Surabaya that have received permission from the Ministry of Transportation to convert conventional motorcycles into electric motorcycles, he added.

"We hope that the acceleration of the use of electric vehicles becomes a necessity in order to help overcome the problem of air pollution and so on," Setiyadi said.

The government is also looking to turn several areas in Indonesia, both industrial and tourism areas, into green areas, he added.

"We have communicated with a number of governors, district heads, mayors, including the district head of Klungkung, which includes Nusa Penida Island, since the area will be a special area for electric motorcycles," he informed.

He further revealed that currently, in Asmat district, Papua, almost all motorcycles in use are electric. Therefore, he called for a workshop to be made available there.

The use of electric vehicles in the government environment is also one of the efforts to encourage the public also to use them, he said.

"The sooner the government uses electric vehicles, I think the faster people will use them," he remarked. (Antaranews)

China has declared its support for Indonesia to build an original vaccine manufacturing hub in a bid to follow up on the vaccine cooperation forged between both nations.

“Vaccine cooperation has become a new highlight of our bilateral relations. China is actively supporting Indonesia in building the original vaccine manufacturing hub,” Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xiao Qian stated during a webinar titled “Xinjiang Is A Good Place” here on Thursday.

To this end, as many as five Chinese companies are working closely with their Indonesian counterparts to support the industrial chain production of vaccines through varied technical routes, he noted.

By the start of November 2021, Sinovac and Sinopharm have supplied 41 batches of vaccines to Indonesia, totaling 247 million vaccine doses received collectively, he remarked.

“This accounts for 80 percent of all the vaccines received by Indonesia,” he stated.

The vaccine cooperation between Indonesia and China has become a pacesetter among regional countries,” according to the ambassador.

Despite a complicated and volatile national or regional situation, both countries have maintained stability and certainty, and their general direction will not change, he emphasized.

“China and Indonesia are good neighbors, good friends, and good partners. Since the pandemic struck, China and Indonesia have been helping each other and have joined hands to fight the pandemic. This has led to a new chapter in our friendship,” he expounded.

Last April, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo had engaged in a telephonic conversation for the first time since last year, providing strong political guidance to fight the pandemic and to develop the cooperation, he affirmed.

Meanwhile, in last June, China and Indonesia held a successful inaugural meeting, engaged in a dialog on the cooperation mechanism, and agreed to build the Indonesia-China community for the future.

“The two sides expanded cooperation in the maritime sector in addition to political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges as well as created new opportunities for the development of our bilateral relations,” he remarked.

As earlier reported, Indonesia is competing with India and South Korea to emerge as a hub for training and transfer of knowledge for COVID-19 vaccine production in the Asia-Pacific region, a Foreign Affairs Ministry's official stated.

“At this moment, we are competing with India and South Korea for the (designation as a vaccine) hub,” Director of Socio-cultural Affairs and International Organization of Developing Countries at the ministry Penny D. Herasati stated.

Vaccine hubs are being planned by the World Health Organization (WHO) in several regions to achieve global herd immunity, she remarked.

South Africa has become the country hub for the African region owing to the low rate of vaccine production in the region, she added. (Antaranews)