VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Malaysia's new Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday he was reviewing government projects worth billions of dollars approved by his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin as they did not follow the rules.

The remarks come at a time when graft has become a major issue, with former prime minister Najib Razak jailed this year over the looting of billions of dollars from state fund 1MDB after a prosecution following his loss in a 2018 election.

The projects include flood mitigation and COVID-19 aid programmes, said Anwar, who became prime minister last month after a tightly contested election race with Muhyiddin.

"They can say it was clean, but they weren't clean," Anwar told a news conference. "When we look at the approvals, they were done without following the regulations."

In posts on Facebook this week, Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, denied the accusations over COVID-19 relief, saying he would welcome an investigation.

"Not a single penny of this money went into my personal account," Muhyiddin added. "I'm not afraid of being investigated because I know I'm not misusing public funds."

On Monday, Anwar said his government was re-evaluating a Muhyiddin-era plan for a state-owned 5G network as it had not been formulated transparently.

And on Tuesday, he ordered the review of 7 billion ringgit ($1.59 billion) worth of flood mitigation projects, state news agency Bernama said.

Anwar said the projects had been awarded through direct negotiations instead of tenders.

Responding to Anwar's comments on the flood-related projects, former environment minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said projects awarded through direct negotiations were not improper.

Although some projects were expedited, they still followed the rules, he said in a statement.

Malaysian politicians grappling with corruption accusations include Anwar's deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has pleaded not guilty to 47 charges of bribery, money laundering and criminal breach of trust.

Ahmad Zahid is a key coalition partner without whose support Anwar would not have been able to form a government. (Reuters)

Indonesia and Ecuador in 2023 will follow up on a number of agreements that have been agreed upon by the two countries. This was conveyed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to Indonesia, Santiago Chávez in a special interview with RRI Voice of Indonesia, Monday (5/12) in Jakarta.

On May 27, 2022, Indonesia and Ecuador signed a collaboration on disaster risk management in Bali by the Head of BNPB RI Suharyanto and the Head of the Ecuador's Disaster Management Agency (SNGRE) Christian Torres.
According to Santiago Chávez, cooperation in disaster risk management is one of the points of cooperation that will be followed up next year.

"In 2022, the two institutions responsible for risk management, both in Ecuador and Indonesia have reached an agreement and have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on risk management"
"So, in 2023, the two countries will develop the memorandum of understanding by discussing specific points that can be applied, especially in terms of exchanging experiences, capacity building, using technology that can really help each other," Santiago explained. Chávez.

In addition to disaster management, Indonesia and Ecuador will also follow up on cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking.
Santiago Chavez said the two countries had signed this cooperation on May 25, 2022.
"We also seek cooperation in the war against drugs and transnational networks related to drugs," he added.
Santiago Chavez added that both Indonesia and Ecuador have many things in common. Therefore, according to him, there is a lot of potential for cooperation that can be carried out and developed. (VOI)

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy launched a program of 100 archipelago tour packages or what is called "100 PAK WISNU" ahead of the 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year (Nataru) holidays. This program aims to increase the number of movements of domestic tourists, which in 2023 is targeted to reach 1.2 to 1.4 billion movements or trips.

The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno during "The Weekly Brief With Sandi Uno" at the Sapta Pesona Building, December 5 2022, explained, the momentum of the Nataru holiday was felt to be very appropriate to invite the Indonesian people to vacation at #IndonesiaAja.

"I want us to forge while currently the movement of domestic tourists is increasing compared to the previous year. 'PAK WISNU' is in line with and following up on the president's direction to travel in #IndonesiaAja. "PAK WISNU will add to the treasury for traveling ahead of the Nataru holidays which are usually filled with traveling abroad," said Menparekraf Sandiaga.

Deputy for Marketing of Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf Ni Made Ayu Marthini said, in packaging this program, her party coordinated with tourism offices in 34 provinces of the country so that each province sent its 3 best tour packages. Furthermore, it will be promoted into the program "100 archipelago tour packages (100 Pak Wisnu)" through the official Indonesian tourism promotion website, www.indonesia.travel.

"It is hoped that the '100 PAK WISNU' can add information about tour packages for the Christmas and New Year holidays and can increase the movement of domestic tourists, in line with the president's directives to realize the 2023 target of 1.2 to 1.4 billion movements/trips of domestic tourists,” he said.

On the same occasion, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said, Central Java Province has nearly 300 tour packages plus interesting events. Among them are the Borobudur Marathon event, the Sikso Rogo Trail Run on the Slopes of Mount Lawu, and so on.

"Then what is interesting is the second with the potential for large tourist movements, namely pilgrimage or religious tourism. It can be started from several places Sunan Gunung Jati, Semarang, Cirebon, back to Semarang, Pilgrimage of Wali Songo. In fact, this place of pilgrimage or religion does not lose, let alone coincides with the prayer ceremony. This is the best momentum to be able to issue and promote tourism in the country," he said. (VOI)

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan discussed several maritime security issues with Malagasy Defense Minister Leon Jean Richard Rakotonirina on the sidelines of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum.

During the discussion held in Bali, on Monday (December 5, 2022), Madagascar said that Indonesia's leadership was deemed important in maintaining security of the maritime area in the Asia-Pacific Region, especially in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement received on Tuesday.

"Certainly, it is Indonesia's commitment to continue to protect the Indian Ocean as a joint strategic area. Indonesia's leadership in the AIS forum is highly expected by other countries, including Madagascar," the Indonesian coordinating minister noted in the statement.

Pandjaitan remarked that Indonesia had also incessantly striven to deal with various global issues at the 2022 G20 Presidency.

Thus, Indonesia will continue to encourage cooperation among developing countries through Emerging Economies Cooperation as a follow-up to the series of meetings at the G20 Summit, he has stated.

"It will strengthen South-South cooperation, especially in the strategic industry, trade, and infrastructure sectors," Pandjaitan said.

In addition to discussing strategic maritime issues, the two officials explored opportunities for cooperation in the sustainable management of forest and marine resources as well as capacity building of human resources on maritime resource management.

Madagascar views Indonesia as being quite capable of developing the maritime sector, so the African country is keen to increase bilateral cooperation in maritime education.

"Indonesia has been very advanced in this sector. We (Madagascar) really need to collaborate on education about the maritime sector," Rakotonirina, who also served as interim foreign affairs minister of Madagascar, stated.

The political relationship between Indonesia and Madagascar is unique since there is also a psychological-historical relationship between the two countries.

Moreover, Rakotonirina was fluent in Indonesian during the bilateral meeting, considering that he was of Indonesian descent and had spent several years to learn in Indonesia as a recipient of a scholarship. (Antaranews)