VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Health Ministry reported that a case of the COVID-19 Kraken subvariant, or XBB 1.5, was detected in Indonesia, as it had infected a Polish traveller while visiting Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan Province.

"So far, only one case of Kraken (subvariant) has been reported in Indonesia," Head of the Communication and Public Services Bureau of the ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi stated on being confirmed on Thursday.

However, according to a report received by the ministry, the Polish citizen had also visited another city.

The XBB 1.5 subvariant was detected on January 11, 2023, using the genome sequencing method at a government laboratory facility.

The patient arrived in Jakarta on January 6, 2023, and then headed to Balikpapan City on the following day.

Tarmizi noted that the results of the rapid antigen test of the foreigner -- which was taken on January 7, 2023, as a travel requirement to the city -- had shown negative results.

However, when the Polish citizen was about to board a ship in Balikpapan City on January 11, 2023, the result of their PCR test was positive.

"The patient is asymptomatic," the Health Ministry's official noted.

Earlier, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the Kraken subvariant was a derivative of the Omicron subvariant.

He noted that the new sub-variant can be transmitted quickly, but it has low ability to cause death or hospitalization in patients.

"We have seen that this subvariant has been found in the United States, and it has such characteristics," he stated.

Hence, the minister advised the public to not conduct any activity outside when they feel unwell as well as to wear masks in crowded locations.

He also urged the community to get the booster vaccination, as the new subvariant could cause mild symptoms.

According to the World Health Organization, 5,288 cases of XBB 1.5 had been reported from 38 countries between October 22, 2022, and January 11, 2023.

Most of these cases were detected in the United States, reaching 82.2 percent; the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 8.1 percent; as well as Denmark, 2.2 percent.  (Antaranews)

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin emphasized that local culture and values should not only be preserved but also developed to prevent them from becoming "fossil" that offered zero benefits to the people.

"Efforts to advance and preserve national culture need active roles and initiatives from the people. We need to more than preserve. We must develop and enhance its values. If we only preserve (the culture), it will become a 'fossil' that lives but gives nothing for us," Amin stated while opening the 2023 Minahasa Culture Pre-Congress at the University of Indonesia here, Thursday.

As the master of national culture, the people should devise strategies to develop culture and solutions to address issues in the cultural aspect, such as in mitigating effects of globalization, modernization, and digital technology, he noted.

"The national culture, formed by various local cultures and rooted in all regions, could help preserve national resilience and solidarity within the framework of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity)," Amin expounded.

The local culture, which forms the national culture, is also functioning as the binding medium to maintain national harmony.

"There are four frameworks. The first political framework consists of Pancasila, 1945 Constitution, Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. That is our framework at the national level. We also have the juridical framework, which is regulations to prevent conflicts," the vice president stated.

He noted that Indonesia's third framework is the theological framework, a theology of harmony that will maintain unity and concord among religious denominations.

The fourth, cultural framework, must also be preserved to maintain national harmony, as it all values unity, he added.

"The Dalihan Natolu ("the three-legged hearth") in Batak culture, 'Torang Semua Basudara' ("we are all brothers") in the Minahasan culture, and Pela Gandong (brotherhood alliance) in Maluku culture, all teach us to maintain harmony," Amin stated.

The vice president noted that through the local culture, Indonesian people could maintain their harmony and culture, particularly in moments of contention, such as during a general election.

"(By local culture), there would be (no conflict) in a general election, and existing conflicts can also be defused. Hence, we need to develop what the Minahasa people have created. We also need to enliven the culture, not only by preserving it but also living with its values," he remarked. (Antaranews)

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan recently made a working visit to three African countries, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe, to discuss strategic issues and cooperation.

Cooperation in healthcare, mining, infrastructure, energy transition, forestry, and international cooperation were among the aspects he raised during his tour from January 20–24, 2023.

According to a statement received here on Thursday, the coordinating minister started his African tour on January 20 with Kenya, where he met with President William Ruto.

During their meeting, he said that representatives from the Port of Mombasa Authority had visited Indonesia in 2021 to discuss sister-port cooperation and development, which Indonesia intends to pursue.

"I will instruct the president director of the Indonesian Port Authority (Pelindo) to discuss the cooperation with the Port of Mombasa Authority in detail about this port cooperation after I return to Indonesia," Pandjaitan affirmed.

Indonesia and Kenya must enhance cooperation to promote sustainable energy and equitable energy transition to support green development and economic growth, he added.

During the meeting, Pandjaitan welcomed collaboration with Kenya in the Archipelagic and Islands States (AIS) Forum, which was initiated by Indonesia in 2017 and seeks to unite 41 island countries to conceive solutions to maritime issues, including through blue financing and university research cooperation.

"In this context, Indonesia welcomes Kenya authority to collaborate with the AIS Forum in accelerating innovation that will enhance our vision to achieve a sustainable maritime future," he expounded.

On January 23, Pandjaitan continued his African tour by visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he met Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde.

The coordinating minister raised four strategic issues for cooperation in climate action, renewable energy, sustainable mining industry, and infrastructure development during his meeting with Lukonde.

Pandjaitan also followed up on the Forest Climate Initiative -- a joint initiative between Indonesia, Brazil, and DRC -- at the meeting and reiterated the joint commitment to collaborating with other countries to advance the agenda.

"DRC and Brazil will also invite other African and Latin American countries to join the initiative," he noted.

He also expressed confidence that cooperation in food resilience, eco-tourism, agro-forestry, and environmental services, such as carbon credit and carbon capture, will benefit the three initiator countries.

"Indonesia and DRC can also exchange knowledge and experience in determining the carbon price," the coordinating minister said.

During the last leg of his African tour, the coordinating minister met with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on January 24 to discuss five strategic issues.

The strategic issues are sustainable mining industry and energy transition, healthcare cooperation, transportation infrastructure development, forestry cooperation, and digital economy.

At the meeting, Pandjaitan stated Indonesia's intention to propose a cooperation framework in the railway sector, including for the exchange of knowledge, technology, institutional cooperation, and facility enhancement.

Indonesia is also keen to propose digitization system cooperation in the aspects of innovation funding and digital business empowerment, capacity improvement and manpower development, and digital infrastructure, he added.

"It is undeniable that this meeting will greatly contribute to our efforts to devise appropriate strategies for common prosperity with our people, for our people," Pandjaitan remarked.  (Antaranews)

The Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has now allowed foreign nationals to apply for a fresh visitor visa or extend their visa online.

"At the occasion of the Directorate General of Immigration anniversary, foreigners can now apply for a tourist visa and pre-investment visitor visa through the molina.imigrasi.go.id website," director general Silmy Karim said here on Thursday.

Earlier, foreign nationals holding an electronic visa on arrival (e-VoA) had to visit a local immigration office to apply for a visa extension, he said, adding that the launch of the service will allow them to apply for visa anywhere and at any time.

To apply for a tourist visa, pre-investment visitor visa, or e-VoA online, foreign nationals will need to sign up on the molina.imigrasi.go.id website, he informed.

After logging into their new account, they will need to fill up the form and upload all documents required for the application.

Once all the data is submitted, applicants will have to make the payment, whose methods have been specified on the website, and after the payment is verified, the visa will be sent to the applicant's registered e-mail.

"The new service will use an online payment method," he said.

Foreign nationals applying for a tourist visa and pre-investment visitor visa are not required to submit the name of their sponsor, he added.

The new service is expected to encourage growth in the tourism and investment sectors, the director general affirmed.

“The Directorate General of Immigration is keen to facilitate global entrepreneurs and investors to visit and study investment potentials before they are committed to investing in Indonesia," Karim said.

He also expressed the hope that the agency's endeavors to smoothen foreign nationals' visits to Indonesia will benefit the country and bolster the country's positive image in the global community. (Antaranews)