VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): The Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs has urged digital broadcast multiplexing (MUX) operators to fulfill their commitment to providing set-top box (STB) assistance to impoverished people.

"I ask MUX operators to realize their commitment to distributing STBs to poor households,” Deputy for the Coordination of Communication, Information, and Apparatus at the coordinating ministry Rear Marshal Arif Mustofa said on Tuesday.

During a hybrid information dissemination on the distribution of STB assistance in Bali, he said that to date, the quantum of STB assistance provided by MUX operators has remained far below their commitment.

The government recorded that MUX operators have disbursed only 306,403 STBs as assistance as of March 2, 2023, or 7.1 percent of the agreed commitment.

Meanwhile, the government has distributed 1,243,694 STB units, or nearly 100 percent of its commitment.

The government is targeting to provide the assistance to 5.6 million poor households throughout Indonesia so that they can still enjoy digital broadcasts on analog televisions.

It was agreed that the government will distribute 1.3 million STBs as assistance, while MUX operators will disburse the remaining 4.3 million units.

Hence, the deputy urged MUX operators to fulfill their commitment immediately so that the shift from analog to digital broadcasts can be realized more quickly.

He said that the implementation of digital broadcasting will provide many benefits to the community, for instance, in the development and economy sectors.

Once digital broadcasts have been fully implemented, Indonesia could also realize efficiency in the use of the frequency spectrum, Mustofa added.

"We know that the efficient use of the frequency spectrum can generate digital dividends -- which later can be utilized to improve high-speed Internet access, disaster mitigation, education, as well as the digital economy," he said.

The Communication and Information Ministry is planning to carry out the analog switch-off (ASO) in the Bali, South Kalimantan 1, and South Sumatra 1 broadcasting areas on March 20.

The government has said that STB distribution to impoverished households in the three broadcasting areas has reached 45 percent as of March 1.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Zainud Tauhid Sa'adi has praised the Jayapura city government for maintaining the unity of the local community as well as providing a communication platform for religious, educational, traditional, and women leaders.

"Jayapura city, as a city of faith and modernity, is a valuable investment, which we should be grateful for," he remarked while inaugurating the Harmony Award Monument in South Jayapura Sub-district here on Tuesday.

He recalled that the city received the Harmony Award from the Religious Affairs Ministry on January 3, 2021.

Still, it is expected that the local people and the government will continue to strengthen their joint commitment to bolstering the spirit of harmony as well as the growth of the city for the glory of God, the deputy minister said.

He said he hoped that the commitment can actually be realized by developing the city in a conducive and orderly manner.

"Thus, we can create various development innovations to realize a peaceful and prosperous urban society," he added.

Sa'adi appealed to all regions of Indonesia to emulate the attempts made by the Jayapura city government for achieving harmony in society since harmonious conditions can prevent various negative impacts of the development of science and technology in terms of the social aspect.

He said he expects that instead, the community will optimize science and technology to capture business opportunities, improve spiritual and educational literacy, as well as promote the results of the development programs in their respective regions.

Meanwhile, acting Mayor of Jayapura City Frans Pekey said that the Harmony Award Monument is not a mere building as it will always remind the people in the region about the importance of religious tolerance.

"Thus, it (the monument) will be able to ignite people’s spirit to continue to maintain the harmony of inter-religious relations," he added.  (Antaranews)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hoping to hold a summit meeting with South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol next week, the head of Japan's ruling coalition party Komeito said on Tuesday.

"Prime minister Kishida has indicated that he would like to hold a summit meeting with South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol as early as late next week," Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi told a news conference, adding that he hoped to see further progress in the thawing of relations between Tokyo and Seoul.

South Korea announced on Monday that it would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private companies, as it sought to end a dispute with Japan which has led to fraught relations between the countries.

Japan welcomed the move while some forced labour victims and South Korea's main opposition party condemned the plan.

Kyodo reported on Monday that Tokyo was floating March 16 and 17 as potential dates for Yoon's visit to Japan. (Reuters)

Female employment in Afghanistan has dropped by a quarter after the Taliban took over the country, according to estimates from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which said the fall was exacerbated by restrictions on women working and studying.

The ILO said the 25% drop in female employment took place by the final quarter of 2022 from the second quarter of 2021, compared with a 7% drop for men. The Taliban took over the country in August 2021 as foreign forces withdrew.

"Restrictions on girls and women have severe implications for their education and labour market prospects," said Ramin Behzad, the Senior Coordinator for Afghanistan at the ILO, in a statement accompanying its assessment for 2022 of Afghanistan.

Taliban authorities have barred most girls from high school, stopped women from attending universities and most female NGO workers from working.

Afghanistan's economy has also been plunged into a crisis that has wiped out jobs. Following the Taliban takeover, foreign governments withdrew development aid and froze the country's central bank assets.

The ILO estimated GDP had contracted by 30-35 per cent across 2021 and 2022.

Taliban officials have called on the international community to unfreeze its assets to ease the country's liquidity crisis and have said they are focused on encouraging trade and investment to create economic self-sufficiency.

Youth unemployment had also shrunk by an estimated 25% for those aged between 15 and 24. The ILO noted that total employment had shown some signs of recovery in the first half of 2022, but that it had decreased for young men and all women over the year.