VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Kazakh prosecutors have filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the transfer of a local bank's ownership from ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev's non-profit foundation to a foreign company, they said on Thursday.

The foundation established by Nazarbayev, who ran the oil-rich Central Asian nation for three decades until resigning in 2019, used to own Jusan Bank (TSBN.KZ), the sixth-largest lender in the former Soviet republic.

But according to a statement by the prosecutor general's office, the company through which the foundation owned the bank transferred its shares to a foreign company in 2020, "endangering public interest".

Nazarbayev, 82, fell out with his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev last year and lost key positions which had given him sweeping powers even after resignation, such as the chairmanship of the security council.

The Nazarbayev foundation, run by his daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, acquired Jusan in 2019 after it was bailed out by the state.

According to prosecutors, the foundation asked them this month to look into the case, describing the ownership transfer as a result of illegal actions by several entities.

Neither the foundation, which runs a university and a network of prestigious schools, nor Nazarbayev's spokesman could be immediately reached for comment. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) should involve the public in disaster-handling attempts by providing first aid training, especially to those residing in disaster-prone areas, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated.

The head of state noted in his remarks at the working meeting of Basarnas at the agency’s headquarters, here, on Thursday, that educating the community regarding disaster mitigation is important since the potential for disaster occurrence kept increasing.

The president remarked that the frequency of natural disasters and major accidents occurring throughout the world jumped by up to five folds in the last 50 years.

Meanwhile, the frequency of disasters in Indonesia surged by 81 percent, from 1,945 occurrences in 2010 to 3,542 occurrences in 2022, the president pointed out.

“Over 12 years, the increase (in disaster frequency) reached 81 percent. We expect there will be no more disasters and big accidents,” he emphasized.

Hence, the president deemed it crucial to educate members of the community, so they possess the required knowledge and skills to carry out first aid, he remarked.

Furthermore, Jokowi lauded the agility and responsiveness of Basarnas in evacuating the victims.

“I have to say as it is, Basarnas has a very fast response, as the hope of the victims and their families (regarding the survival of the victims) depends on (the work of) the SAR (search and rescue) team,” he remarked.

Hence, the swiftness of the SAR team in evacuating victims determines the number of lives that can be saved, he stated.

Indonesia bore witness to several major accidents, such as the Air Asia plane accident in the Belitung waters, Bangka Belitung Islands Province.

Furthermore, in 2018, the Lion Air JT610 plane plunged into the Karawang waters, West Java Province, while Motor Vessel (MV) Sinar Bangun sank in Lake Toba, North Sumatra Province.

The most recent mishap was the accident of the Sriwijaya Air plane in the waters of Seribu Islands District, Jakarta, in 2021.

In addition to the president, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung attended the working meeting that was also held to commemorate the 51st Anniversary of Basarnas.

On the same occasion, the president also appealed to the agency to improve its equipment with the use of latest technology to accelerate the evacuation process of disaster victims.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said that genome sequencing technology will bring major changes to the healthcare industry in the future.

"Inventions in genome sequencing and DNA technology will change the health industry in the future, including changes in patient diagnosis and patient treatment," he informed while opening a discussion on genomic technology in Jakarta on Thursday.

Genome sequencing is a method used to sequence the genomes of organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and humans.

Genome is the whole genetic information owned by a cell or organism, or in particular, the entirety of the nucleic acids that contain that information.

The development of genome sequencing technology is in line with the health transformation that is being promoted by the Ministry of Health, namely the transformation of health technology, including biotechnology, the minister noted.

According to him, the study of genomes plays an important role in understanding and analyzing DNA. The use of this technology can bring benefits to the medical world in terms of delivering more precise diagnoses to patients.

The development and use of genome sequencing technology in Indonesia is in its early stages. However, Sadikin said that Indonesia has many opportunities it can explore in this field in the future.

Given itsbiodiversity, genomic data, and population size, he believes that Indonesia will be able to develop genome sequencing technology in the health industry.

Indonesia also has an ecosystem of start-up companies that has developed over the past five to ten years, he noted.

"Our job is to replicate this ecosystem for companies in the biotechnology sector," he said.

According to him, the government's efforts in genome sequencing can also open opportunities for venture capital companies to get actively involved in the health industry, specifically the development of genome sequencing technology.

However, he reminded that investment in this sector requires a long-term commitment. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Jakarta Transportation Office is continuing to improve the quantity and quality of public transportation, head of the office, Syafrin Liputo, said here on Thursday.

Bolstering the quantity and quality of public transportation will help support the transition from personal vehicles to public transportation, he explained.

In terms of quantity, the office will increase the number of inter-vehicle integration points to 26 points from the target of 22 integration points in 2023.

Meanwhile, to strengthen the quality of transportation, the Jakarta provincial government will add 120 additional TransJakarta electric buses this year.

Last year, the provincial government aimed to deploy 100 electric buses, with 30 buses already realized.

"Thus, we expect that there will be around 220 electric buses operational by the end of the year," Liputo said.

The provincial government is also implementing strategies to get people to switch from personal vehicles to public transportation.

These include the odd-even policy, the closure of 27 turn-back points from June 2023, and electronic road pricing (ERP).

Meanwhile, according to data provided by the Jakarta Transportation Office, the capacity of public transportation has continued to be increased.

For instance, the capacity of Jakarta-owned bus rapid transit service TransJakarta has currently reached around 1.2 million passengers per day with 4,700 armadas deployed to serve them.

The office has projected that TransJakarta’s capacity will increase in 2024 to 1.5 million passengers with the deployment of 6,960 armadas and an increase in the number of BRT corridors (with bus stops) from 13 to 15.

Meanwhile, Jakarta MRT's capacity currently stands at 173 thousand passengers per day and will be increased in 2024 to 260 thousand, which will support the completion of MRT Phase 2A.

Next, Jakarta LRT's current capacity has reached 18 thousand passengers per day. As it has been integrated with TransJakarta, its capacity is targeted to rise to 145 thousand passengers per day.

The Jakarta Transportation Office is also aiming to serve 3.9 million public transportation passengers per day, in accordance with the 2024 Regional Development Plan, which reflects an increase compared to the projection of 3.6 million passengers in 2023.

According to Liputo, this number has increased compared to in 2022, when it neared 3.5 million passengers per day.  (Antaranews)