VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was summoned to appear at the country's anti-graft agency on Thursday, following allegations of abuse in stimulus programmes launched under his premiership.

In a Facebook post, Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, said he has been called into the headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at 11am on Thursday. He did not say why.

He also denied a news report that he was arrested on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year ordered a review of government projects worth billions of dollars approved by Muhyiddin, including COVID-19 relief programmes, alleging they did not follow proper procedures.

Muhyiddin, who is now in the opposition, has denied the accusations, describing them as political vendetta.

Anwar's office and the MACC did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Anwar and Muhyiddin went head-to-head in a tightly contested election in November that resulted in a hung parliament as neither candidate won a parliamentary majority.

Malaysia's constitutional monarch, King Al-Sultan Abdullah, then appointed Anwar as prime minister after he formed a coalition with other political parties.

Since the election, Muhyiddin and his party have been subject to graft investigations.

Two leaders belonging to Muhyiddin's party have been charged by the MACC with bribery over an economic recovery project launched by his government.

Muhyiddin was questioned by the MACC last month regarding the same project.

The MACC has also frozen bank accounts belonging to Muhyiddin's party. (Reuters)

Pakistani police lobbed tear gas shells and baton-charged supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan in clashes which injured several on both sides on Wednesday, a government minister and his party said.

The clashes erupted in the eastern city of Lahore ahead of a Khan's planned rally to kick-start his election campaign, but which the government then banned.

The former premier has been demanding snap polls since he was ousted in a parliament vote of confidence last year. His successor has rejected the demand and stated elections would be held as scheduled later this year.

Khan was shot and wounded at one of his own political rallies last year.

Wednesday's rally was banned owing to a threat to the law and order situation as there were International Women's Day gatherings in the area, provincial information minister Amir Mir said, adding supporters attacked the police when they were ordered to disperse.

"In retaliation, police used water cannons, tear gas and batons to disperse them," Mir told Reuters. He said at least seven police officials were injured. Twelve workers of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested, he added.

Khan's aide Shafqat Mahmood said several of the workers were injured in the clashes, which, he termed, "fascist tactics."

Live TV footage showed the police using extensive teargas shelling on several spots around Khan's Lahore home, with a couple of the workers seen bleeding.

Khan, who has been embroiled in several court cases since his ouster, is wanted in court on March 13 to defend charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts misusing his office from 2018 to 2022.

His party called off the rally after the clashes. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo supports national cybersecurity strengthening through the ASEAN regional cooperation, especially since Indonesia holds the reins of the ASEAN Chair for 2023.

The urgency of developing cooperation in the cybersecurity sector is what drove the creation of the ASEAN cybersecurity cooperation strategy, Soesatyo noted in a statement.

The ASEAN cybersecurity cooperation strategy provides a regional cooperation roadmap, he noted during the Web Summit Data Secure AI 2023 event held by the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Association (ABDI) here, Tuesday.

This roadmap is used to achieve the goal of realizing a safe and trustworthy cyberspace for public service and public online activities in the ASEAN.

According to the speaker, ASEAN collaboration and cooperation became a strategic and crucial issue since hackers and cyber criminals also collaborate in utilizing the various parts of the digital space.

These include the dark web, metaverse, big data analytics, data science, AI, and NFT blockchain.

He deemed that data protection had become an important issue amid the advancements in information technology, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the acceleration of digitalization.

The pandemic has also propelled the migration of the business sector and the transition of social activities toward the cyberspace and metaverse or virtual reality era, he stated.

To this end, while technology can bring benefits, in terms of expediting economic recovery in Indonesia and ASEAN, the dark side of technology should also be anticipated by ASEAN countries.

Data leak, such as the Bjorka case, serves as a real example in which people exploit the vulnerabilities in data protection, he pointed out.

The speaker believes that one should be grateful for the birth of Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection (PDP Law).

This is because the law not only protects the sovereignty of the people's personal data but it also safeguards them from personal data theft by hackers.

Moreover, the Law on Information and Electronic Transaction exists to protect the people in conducting electronic transactions and receiving information, he remarked.

As the one holding the reins of the ASEAN Chair in 2023, he expects Indonesia to turn ASEAN into an engine in realizing a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region and an economic growth center.

Thus, the theme raised in the Web Summit is relevant within this context of the urgency in developing safety, trust, competitiveness, and technological literacy. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews) The locally-made COVID-19 vaccine, IndoVac, can already be used for the fourth dose, or second booster vaccinations, for people aged 18 years and above, according to an official from the Ministry of Health.

“The Health Ministry has added the COVID-19 vaccine regimen, namely the IndoVac vaccine, as a second booster (vaccine). This applies to targets who received AstraZeneca (for) primary vaccines,” Health Ministry’s Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau Siti Nadia Tarmizi stated when confirmed here on Wednesday.

The provision of IndoVac for second booster dose vaccination is approved for the general public aged 18 years and above. Earlier, the vaccine was only given to older adults or people aged 60 years and above.

“This vaccine has received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM),” she remarked.

The use of the IndoVac vaccine, as a second booster vaccine, is based on the recommendation of the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) Number ITAGI/SR/3/2023 that was issued on March 6, 2023, on Update for the Provision of the IndoVac COVID-19 Booster Dose.

IndoVac is given in a full dose, or 0.5 ml as a second booster dose vaccine. The vaccine is given at an interval of six months from the first booster dose.

The IndoVac second booster vaccines are provided at health facilities or COVID-19 vaccination posts.

“Booster doses are needed, so that immunity is maintained and to cut the COVID-19 transmission,” she remarked.

Tarmizi noted that most of the COVID-19 patients that are hospitalized and are experiencing moderate to severe symptoms had not received booster doses. Similarly, most of the patients that had succumbed to the disease had not received the booster doses, she pointed out.

According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of March 7, 2023, some 203,811,617 Indonesians have received the first vaccine dose, 174,839,531 have been administered the second dose, 70,026,136 have taken the third dose or first booster, and 2,768,683 people have received the second booster. (Antaranews)