VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has stressed the importance of quality state budget spending to provide optimal benefits to the people.

"One of the most crucial keys for the state budget to be tangible, not wasted, is the quality of spending. So, good and plentiful allocation does not necessarily turn out to be a real result," the minister said at an event entitled “State Budget for the Whole Country,” which was followed online from here on Thursday.

One of the priorities of the state budget is improving human resources, she noted.

A country can develop and become prosperous if it has healthy, smart human resources of good quality, she added.

Hence, she said, 20 percent of the state budget, which amounts to Rp612.2 trillion (US$41 billion), has been allocated for the education sector in 2023.

Of the allocation, Rp237.1 trillion (US$16 billion) is for central government expenditure, Rp305.6 trillion (US$20.5 billion) for regional spending, and Rp69.5 trillion (US$4.7 billion) for funding.

Another sector that has been prioritized in the state budget is health, she said.

According to her, in the past three years, there has been significant spending on health, which has been predominantly used for COVID-19 handling and covering vaccinations, treatments, and expenses of people undergoing self-isolation, among other things.

Indrawati informed that currently, COVID-19 is under control, so the budget can be used for other issues such as stunting reduction as well as improving medical facilities to treat patients suffering from non-communicable diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

As much as Rp178.7 trillion (US$11.9 billion) in the state budget has been allocated for the health sector in 2023, with Rp118.7 trillion (US$7.9 billion) set aside for the central government and Rp60 trillion (US$4 billion) for stunting reduction.

Further, the state budget has allocated Rp476 trillion (US$31.8 billion) for social security, with Rp454.7 trillion (US$30.4 billion) set aside for the central government, Rp17 trillion (US$1.13 billion) for regional use, and Rp4.3 trillion (US$288 million) for others.

The state budget functions as a shock absorber, she said, which consistently protects the people and the economy at times when the global situation is not stable, such as when fuel prices fluctuate, the minister noted.

For instance, when global fuel prices doubled, the government used the budget to provide subsidies so that the prices remained affordable, she added. (Antaranews)

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Thursday that he would welcome investment in the new Indonesian capital (IKN) Nusantara from one of Elon Musk's companies.

He conveyed this during a discussion at the 2023 Mandiri Investment Forum's (MIF's) “Morning Talk” in Jakarta.

During the session, one of the representatives of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Taufikurrahman, pointed out that one of Musk's companies intends to enter IKN to support Nusantara's smart city vision.

"This may provide major technological assistance to IKN and also to Indonesia as a whole. We request for assistance in the licensing process," he added.

Taufikurrahman said the company is in the licensing process, though it has run into technical problems.

In response to the request, Lahadalia assured that his ministry will provide assistance to the company without delay and expedite the licensing process.

He sought a list of the problems that the company is facing and details on how much it wants to invest and in which sectors.

"As long as they truly want to invest, and the domain is under the Investment Ministry and other ministries, we will expedite it. I will expedite it. That is my promise," he said.

The minister then underlined his commitment to helping investors who are willing to park their capital in Indonesia.

Lahadalia said that his ministry will not block investments coming to Indonesia.

"This is because, in my opinion, blocking investors, blocking investments, is similar to blocking potential job creation, blocking state income, and our competitiveness will be disrupted," he explained.

During the same discussion, IKN Authority head Bambang Susantono said that his side is ready to facilitate investment from Musk's company.

There have been many investment proposals seeking to support connectivity in IKN, he said.

However, he said that he has not seen the proposal from Musk's company. (Antaranews)

The speaker of Taiwan's parliament during a forum for international religious freedom in Washington on Wednesday stressed the importance of defending the island's democracy in the face of pressure from China.

In an address to the International Religious Freedom Summit, You Si-kun sharply criticized Beijing's suppression of religious minorities and described Taiwan as the only democracy in the Chinese-speaking world.

He also stressed the self-governed, but Chinese-claimed island's strategic importance at the center of key global sea lanes and as an important producer of semiconductors.

"So it's very important to safeguard Taiwan, especially its democracy," he said.

"If Taiwan falls into the sphere of influence of CCP, then the beacon of democracy will be destroyed. And China may invade the first island chain, and will cause a threat to the entire world," You said, referring to China's ruling Communist Party and its ambitions in the Pacific region.

Speaking through a translator, You said about 50% of global shipping used the Taiwan Strait between the island and China, "so it has very important economic significance for the global trade."

"And ... Taiwan has produced the best semiconductor chips and will be very important for global trade as well," he said. "So if Taiwan cannot be safeguarded very carefully, it will be very dangerous to global trade as well as global peace."

You, who belongs to Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party but does not speak for President Tsai Ing-wen, is in Washington amid speculation that Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy could soon visit the island.

Speaking to reporters later, You declined to say whether he would meet with U.S. officials or McCarthy while in the United States. He said China had overreacted to such congressional visits, which he called "very normal."

In August, then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, visited Taiwan and met Tsai, defying warnings from China, which launched military drills around the island in response, raising fears that Beijing may carry out its threat to reclaim the island by force if necessary.

Since then, Taiwan has welcomed a wave of U.S. lawmakers, and speculation has swirled around whether McCarthy would travel there this spring or summer. McCarthy last year expressed interest in visiting Taiwan if he became speaker, a role he assumed in January after Republicans took control of the House in November's midterm elections.

Like most countries, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

Washington has long stuck to a policy of "strategic ambiguity" and not making clear whether it would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan. However, President Joe Biden said in September that U.S forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, his most explicit statement on the issue. (Reuters)

New Zealand's government on Thursday announced NZ$700,000 ($450,000) in additional funding to help rebuild flood-ravaged Auckland and other areas in the upper north island as residents of the country's second-largest city start cleaning up.

Auckland and much of New Zealand’s upper North Island have been hit by record rainfall in the last week, which authorities say has been exacerbated at least in part by climate change.

Four people died in flooding and landslides that left roads closed, cut off communities, and damaged homes, farms and businesses.

“The main thing that we have to do right now is to support people through this immediate period,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday. “Of course, the government is going to continue to look at how best we can support people whose lives have been turned upside down.”

The worst of the rain has passed from Auckland, although some showers are expected Thursday afternoon, according to weather provider MetService. However, rain warnings remain in place for the regions southeast of Auckland.

“Rain falling onto already sodden ground will pool faster and impacts/delays should be expected where heavy rain falls,” MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said in a statement.

People in the city of 1.6 million are being asked to stay out of the sea and floodwaters because of fears of contamination. Two hundred high-rise buildings don't have lifts operating, causing challenges for residents. Evacuation centres remain open across the city.

Summers in New Zealand usually bring some rain, but the region is experiencing the La Nina weather system, which can bring much heavier rain to the upper North Island. (Reuters)