VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): The Environment and Forestry Ministry urged governments in regions, particularly Bengkulu Province, to report to the ministry's law enforcement division about palm oil companies suspected of deliberately destroying forest areas.

Director general of sustainable forest management at the Environment and Forestry Ministry Agus Justianto stated that the appeal was made in the wake of hundreds of hectares of Bengkulu Forests being allegedly encroached upon by palm oil plantations and companies.

"We have a law enforcement mechanism (in place) through the director general of law enforcement at the Environment and Forestry Ministry, which will further (investigate) existing reports," he remarked.

Regional governments, non-governmental organizations, and general public could report such activities, provided they have accurate data and information, he remarked.

Once the data was complete and sent to the ministry, it would be followed up through a verification process, in which a team from the ministry would be sent to the site, before it could be determined as an encroachment case, Juslianto elaborated.

"You have to have accurate data and information. Only then a team from the Environment and Forestry Ministry will be dispatched to the region to confirm this case by bringing the National Land Agency to measure the area in question to see whether it is included in a forest area or not," he remarked.

Moreover, he urged the regional governments to also keep an eye out for misuse of forest areas. In the event of such instances being found, they should report it.

His side has constantly warned on prevention of such cases of forest encroachment, so they would not recur, as it would damage the environment and compromise the local ecology.

"If the intention for encroachment is proven, then criminal sanctions will be imposed. However, if the encroachment has already been done, yet there is no intention (for such), then there will be compensation that must be made or non-tax state levies," he concluded. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): Communication and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate urged journalists to utilize technology in carrying out their work, such as fact-checking, during the 2023 National Press Day (HPN) commemoration in Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday,

"Media can help through fact-checking by using digital technology, processing numeric data analysis, analyzing social networks, to optimizing the cost of other variables in performing various journalism work," he said in a press statement.

With the current advancement in technology and digital space, journalists are expected to carry out their work with the help of technology, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) that many people have adopted.

Plate cited the example of a foreign news-gathering agency that is using AI to support productivity.

The use of AI by the United States' Associated Press, for instance, has allowed the agency to increase its article production by 12-fold, he noted.

He believes that the use of technology by journalists in carrying out their duties can also be the road to ensuring a clean and beneficial digital space for people searching for news.

It is deemed important especially given the massive utilization of social media in the current era, wherein digital space has become vulnerable to the challenges of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation.

The minister said he expected journalists to maintain their social function by undertaking healthy and quality journalistic work through fact-checking.

Plate's ministry is encouraging journalists and the government to continue to maintain the digital space responsibly.

The ministry has continued to actively coordinate with the Press Council on undertaking cyber patrols to handle negative content and check the spread of disinformation in the digital space, he informed.

This has been undertaken to provide a safe, comfortable, and productive digital ecosystem for everyone, he remarked.

Plate also lauded the free press that has currently grown quite well in Indonesia. (Antaranews)

Minister of Communication and Informatics (Menkominfo) Johnny G. Plate has said he is optimistic that the national press industry will be able to contribute to Indonesia's economic growth.

"The government is optimistic that the national economy will grow by 5.31 percent despite the impact due to the weakening global economy," he observed in a statement received here on Wednesday.

"We hope the mass media community will take advantage of this difficult time as a challenge and opportunity to continue to grow and develop for the better," he said.

Minister Plate made the remarks at the “Mass Media Convention” regarding the 2023 National Press Day (HPN), in Medan, North Sumatra province, on Wednesday.

Plate said that in today's digital era, mass media has grown enormously. As many as 88 percent of people use digital media. As a result, a number of media are involved in fierce competition.

So, it is hoped that the mass media industry will be able to take advantage of the various opportunities and continue to play a role in building a digital era that is clean and safe for users, he said.

"In this digital era, fierce competition continues to occur. Therefore, people in the mass media industry must be able to take advantage of opportunities to create a digital world that is clean, safe, and comfortable for users," he said.

Plate also asked the mass media to continue to avoid malinformation to maintain the continuity of its existence.

Meanwhile, North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi said press freedom in North Sumatra was opened as wide as possible.

"As the media has freedom, we are often disappointed, too (by their reporting)," he added.

"However, we continue to work with constructive mass media, which report professionally and in a balanced manner according to journalistic norms," he said.

Rahmayadi also said he feels grateful that his province has been given the opportunity to host the 2023 HPN.

In the meantime, general chairperson of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Center, Atal S. Depari, said that PWI is committed to guarding a free, democratic, and dignified press. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said that his ministry will continue to cooperate with the military (TNI) and police (Polri) to maintain national stability so that the government can optimize economic growth.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Indonesian economy grew 5.01 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the overall economic growth in 2022 reached 5.31 percent, the highest on record during President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi’s) office term.

"This economic growth was achieved due to the conducive political and economic situation as well as good security, so (we) laud the TNI and Polri. Because of good political stability, the economy keeps advancing," the coordinating minister said at the “2023 TNI-Polri Command Meeting” here on Wednesday.

Currently, the economic challenges faced by Indonesia have shifted from the COVID-19 pandemic to multidimensional risks, which may lead to global stagflation and thereby, make economic performance very difficult to predict and calculate.

With the right fiscal and monetary policies, the implementation of the Financial Sector Development and Reinforcement Law, Government Regulations in lieu of Law (Perppu) on Job Creation, as well as export proceeds (DHE) regulations are expected to mitigate the risk of stagflation.

The regulations are also expected to provide legal certainty in the midst of the uncertain global economic situation since they are the pillar to strengthen economic growth, job creation, as well as financial and exchange rate stability.

In addition, Indonesia is the chair of ASEAN for 2023. Its chairmanship is themed "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" to reflect ASEAN's important role in global geopolitical dynamics.

Hence, support from the TNI and Polri is also required to maintain security for the implementation of the series of ASEAN chairmanship activities.

"Strong coordination between the government and all stakeholders, including the TNI and Polri, has become essential for supporting the acceleration of the post-pandemic economic recovery and national development agenda,” Hartarto said.

He then invited all parties to increase synergy and cooperation to realize the vision of Advanced Indonesia to improve people’s welfare. (Antaranews)