VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The acceleration of the 5G connectivity network is an opportunity for Indonesians to not only become smart digital users, but also smart digital specialists and digipreneurs, an official from the Communication and Informatics Ministry has said.

"Not only become smart digital users, but Indonesian people are also expected to be able to become smart digital specialists and smart 'digitalpreneurs' who are able to create a lot of jobs here," director of standardization of post and information technology at the ministry, Mulyadi, remarked at an online seminar on Tuesday.

This is in keeping with the ministry’s recent policy to increase the local content requirement (TKDN) for all 4G and 5G devices to 35 percent, which will come into effect six months after its date of issuance, he noted.

The requirement has been regulated by the Minister of Communication and Informatics Regulation Number 13/2021 on Technical Standards for 4G and 5G Subscriber Station Telecommunication Equipment and/or Mobile Cellular Telecommunication Device, he said.

"In addition, the regulation is in line with the President's directive to make Indonesia a smart player in the development of 5G networks," the director added.

Furthermore, Mulyadi informed that the government has prepared the Indonesia 5G Task Force to manage and expedite the development of 5G networks in Indonesia.

The ministry is also striving to synergize five policy aspects for realizing network development, he said.

The aspects comprise preparing the spectrum, business models, infrastructure, devices and ecosystems, as well as regulations, he added.

Mulyadi said the government is also assessing supply and demand in the 5G ecosystem.

"In terms of supply, we highlight the availability of frequency spectrum as well as the development of 5G infrastructure and its supporters," he informed.

Hence, the possible solutions to the matters are establishing the relevant regulation, conducting the analog switch, optimizing the government’s facilities to develop 5G networks, and building cooperation to improve the networks, he said.

Meanwhile, in terms of demand, the ministry is focusing on the availability of the network for all mobile phone segments, users’ urgency to use 5G services, and the absence of 5G use, he disclosed.

"Several solutions for the matters are encouraging handset manufacturers to provide 5G networks in all mobile phone segments, developing user apps/contents which require 5G features, and encouraging cooperation to develop 5G networks for vertical industries," the director added. (Antaranews)

All Indonesians traveling abroad will need to undergo a five-day quarantine upon their return to Indonesia, the COVID-19 Response Task Force has said.

“They all must be quarantined,” coordinator of the expert team and spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Wiku Adisasmito, said on Tuesday.

Among Indonesians traveling abroad is Indonesia's U-23 national football team that is competing in Tajikstan for the U-23 Asian Cup qualification round, he informed.

The compulsory quarantine for international travelers has been stipulated in Circular No. 20/2021 on Health Protocols for International Travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic, he informed.

He expressed the hope that all sides will comply with the government rule which is aimed at controlling and preventing COVID-19 transmission.

Earlier, the COVID-19 Task Force had said all international travelers, both Indonesian and foreign nationals, will be subjected to a five-day quarantine upon arrival in Indonesia.

The circular is aimed at applying the health protocols for international travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic, it added.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had earlier confirmed that the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Indonesia has shown an increase in the last two weeks.

Indonesia added 460 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 30 deaths on Monday, taking the total confirmed cases to more than 4.2 million and total deaths to more than 143 thousand, official data has shown.

At least 69.13 million Indonesians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

According to the latest data from the task force, the number of fully vaccinated people rose by 866,113 to 69,130,122 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the number of people receiving their first dose rose by 922,722 to 114,347,101, it reported.

The number of third dose or 'booster' vaccine recipients rose by 2,899 to touch 1,110,323, it said.

Overall, the government is aiming to inoculate 208,265,720 million people. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian government has formulated its policy for national economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic by observing Islamic principles, including equal justice, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

“The policy we have designed obviously reflects sharia goals. This is what we call adaptive and just community, so how we will improve them,” she said at the 7th IIMEFC & the 13th ICIEf held online here on Tuesday.

The step must be taken now that the COVID-19 pandemic has created distortion and disparities in the economic, social, and health fields, she explained. As a result, the state budget’s role is very critical, she highlighted.

“Let us look at how we have designed the state budget which is getting to push for even distribution,” she elaborated.

The government has formulated a policy related to the fulfillment of the people’s basic needs, she said. This is in line with the priorities set by President Joko Widodo in the fields of human capital or human resources development, she pointed out.

Indonesia has allocated a sizable amount of budget funds for human resources development through education, health, and social safety net budgets, she said.

“The health budget has currently reached more than 6 percent. Meanwhile, our Constitution necessitates the budget allocation for the education sector at 20 percent of the total budget. The social safety net includes subsidy for the poorest families,” she added.

The government has assured that the budgeting policy will cover the entire nation so that none of the citizens miss health and educational services, the minister said.

In addition, the government is also striving to apply Islamic principles, maqashid al-syariah, or achieving happiness and welfare in the world and the hereafter through good life order, she added.

“The second is maqashid. This is about the distribution of property, wealth, and income at a district level,” the minister said.

Therefore, the government is providing cash transfers or utilizing the social budget to feed the poorest and most vulnerable families to ensure that their needs and welfare are met, she added.

The government is also applying a progressive income taxation system in which people who earn more pay more since the tax collection will be used to support the poor, she informed.

The tax collection will also be used to build basic infrastructures which are very useful for the poor so that they will get jobs and boost productivity, she said.

“So, tax actually reflects what we call the equality principle," she said.

Lastly, the government is applying the principle of equal rights, chances, and profit in accordance with the business opportunity democratization system and Islamic values—giving justice, chance, and equality to all to develop, she expounded.

“So, these all may be viewed as an ordinary fiscal policy but actually they reflect Islamic values,” she remarked. (Antaranews)

At least 69.13 million Indonesians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

According to the latest data from the task force, the number of fully vaccinated people rose by 866,113 to 69,130,122 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the number of people receiving their first dose rose by 922,722, bringing the number of first dose recipients in the country to 114,347,101, it reported.

As per data, the number of third dose or 'booster' vaccine recipients rose by 2,899 to touch 1,110,323, it said.

Overall, the government is aiming to inoculate 208,265,720 million people.

The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 53.53 percent of the total 208,265,720 citizens targeted by the COVID-19 vaccination program.

Meanwhile, according to official data, 33.19 percent of Indonesian citizens targeted to receive the second dose have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Earlier, attending a virtual meeting from Merdeka Palace, Jakarta on Monday, President Joko Widodo had directed all regional heads to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations so that people can go back to their daily activities and economic activities can run again.

"I remind all regions with low vaccination coverage, still below 50 percent, to intensify vaccinations to surpass 50 percent (vaccination rate) in November 2021," the President told regional heads from across Indonesia, according to a press release issued by the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat here on Tuesday.

To boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021. President Joko Widodo was the first vaccine recipient under the program.

The central government is aiming to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the Indonesian population by December 2021. (Antaranews)