VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Halal industry acceleration and halal tourism development will be the main pillars of post-pandemic national economic growth, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Amirsyah Tambunan, has said.

"Acceleration of the halal industry and the development of halal tourism will be the main pillars of national economic growth after the COVID-19 epidemic," he stated at the "Sharing Happiness Towards Talent Development & Digital Transformation for the Sharia Economy" seminar here on Thursday.

According to him, MUI has a fairly important and strategic role, namely conducting audits of halal products through the Halal Inspection Agency (LPH) and issuing halal fatwas in accordance with Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantee (JPH).

The Halal Product Guarantee Agency (BPJPH) issues halal certification, which is being accelerated to support the development of the halal economy ecosystem in Indonesia.

"Indonesia has a dream of becoming the center of the world's halal economy in 2024," he noted.

Tambunan said that five measures are needed to help the country realize that dream. First, pushing the availability of halal infrastructure in Indonesia in accordance with sharia principles, he informed.

Second, encouraging the issuance of regulations that favor the halal industry and tourism. Third, promoting the halal culinary heritage of the Indonesian nation in order to advance micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Fourth, encouraging the creation of safe, comfortable, clean conditions to advance Indonesia's halal industry.

Fifth, encouraging halal industry business players to increase productivity, including through halal export-import activities with countries that have halal standards.

At the seminar, director of government affairs at Huawei Indonesia, Yenty Joman, said that as a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has abundant resources to build an inclusive, effective, and resilient sharia economy to deal with various crises.

"We fully support the digital ecosystem in Indonesia, especially in the context of post-pandemic economic recovery," she added.  (Antaranews)

Batanghari library - 

The Sumatra region is known as the world's producer of palm oil. This potential should be able to maximize the welfare of the community. That's not the case. The literacy factor is to increase oil palm productivity again.

This was conveyed by the Regent of Batang Hari, Muhammad Fadhil Arief when opening the talk show Improving the Community Literacy Index (PILM), Thursday (7/7/2022).
Palm oil production in Batang Hari is currently only seven quintals per hectare per month. Far from ideal conditions. Regent Arief believes that if the community has good knowledge and information, oil palm farmers in Batang Hari can produce three tons per hectare per month.
“The people of Batang Hari 82% work as oil palm farmers. However, it is the big companies that enjoy the results from palm oil,” said the Regent.
Therefore, Regent Fadhil advised oil palm farmers in Batang Hari to increase their knowledge. People must be aware and understand that anyone will be left behind if they adapt quickly. That is the importance of having the ability to acquire knowledge by reading.
"This is where the problem lies. Our farmer referee knowledge is not comprehensive enough. I don't know how to choose good seeds, how to plant well, clean the land well, and how to make fertilizer more effective and efficient," explained the Regent.
The presence of the library which was just inaugurated with the Deputy for Library Resource Development of the National Library of Indonesia, Deni Kurniadi, is expected to be a place that attracts the public. Loaded with a variety of contemporary activities. In particular, the Regent asked government employees to be active examples so that people would come to the library.
According to Deni Kurniadi, the library itself has an obligation to facilitate the activities of all Indonesian citizens. The position of the library is very strategic in creating a learning community.
“Currently libraries are encouraged to provide more benefits for the community through a social inclusion-based library service transformation program. With the tagline literacy for welfare, this program has targeted 34 provinces, more than 300 regencies/cities and 3,000 villages in Indonesia," said the Deputy.

Deni also emphasized that good literacy skills will have an impact on the strength of the foundation in forming cognitive skills, social sensitivity, and community productivity. Literacy is needed so that Indonesia is no longer a market for developed countries.
"Natural resources will eventually run out, but sustainable, literate human resources are needed in the development of science and technology," he said.
The huge potential generated from oil palm should be able to improve welfare. Moreover, Indonesia is known as one of the world's largest palm oil exporters. However, this potential is being eroded because it is precisely what is produced in Indonesia that has low economic value, such as CPO and PKO.
"It's better if we focus on products derived from palm oil to be used as cosmetic ingredients that are no less valuable. In fact, by 2045, Indonesia is targeting to become a center for producers and consumers of palm oil derivative products in the world so that it can determine global CPO prices," said Head of the Faculty of Agriculture, Jambi University, Mursalin.
The importance of the role of literacy in the progress of a country was also explained by the Education and Culture Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, Yusli Wardianto. The international community recognizes that Japan is one of the countries with good literacy.
The reading culture in Japan is built from an early age. All parties are involved without exception. Children in Japan from birth are familiar with books. Cool again, the Japanese government has a program to give gifts of books to newborn children.
"They distributed books to mothers when they took their children for the first immunization," explained Yusli.
The literacy movement in Japan began in the 17th century, where Terakoya had grown throughout Japan and reached its peak in the Meiji Restoration era. The number of Terrakoya even then had already reached more than 15,000. Terakoya is a place where ordinary people's children learn to read, write, and count. The result in 1913, Japan has managed to become one of the world's largest book producers.
The success of Japan is not impossible to be followed by Indonesia. Moreover, Indonesia has no less than 164,610 libraries. Much higher than Japan which only has 3,360 libraries//VOI

 A U.S. counterintelligence agency on Wednesday warned state and local officials that China is intensifying influence operations aimed at manipulating them into pressing the federal government to pursue more Beijing-friendly policies.

China "understands that U.S. state and local leaders enjoy a degree of independence from Washington and may seek to use them as proxies to advocate for national U.S. policies Beijing desires," the National Counterintelligence and Security Center said in a bulletin sent to state and local officials.

The warning comes amid sharp tensions between Washington and Beijing over a raft of issues. They span from U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and China's human rights record to Beijing's military activities in the South China Sea and alleged espionage operations against the United States.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman on Thursday rejected the accusation and said cooperation between both sides is totally "above board".

"We Chinese have a saying: He who lost his axe suspects his neighbor for stealing it," spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing in Beijing.

"This describes the U.S. mentality, which is filled with Cold War mentality and ideological bias."

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration views China as a strategic competitor. But it says it is determined to avoid conflict and seeks Beijing's adherence to international rules and institutions on peace and security.

The new counterintelligence bulletin said that Beijing is using a variety of means to manipulate state and local officials into pressing Washington for policies that are more friendly to China.

"PRC (Peoples Republic of China) influence operations can be deceptive and coercive, with seemingly benign business opportunities or people-to-people exchanges sometimes masking PRC political agendas," it said.

China's approaches include using front groups like the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which cultivates "sister" relationships between Beijing and U.S. localities, the bulletin said.

Another group, the National Association for China's Peaceful Reunification, promotes Sino-U.S. friendship, but advocates Beijing's views on Taiwan in letters to members of Congress and others, it continued.

The Chinese communist government says it seeks "peaceful reunification" with democratic Taiwan. But it reserves "other options" for the island that it regards as a Chinese province. (Reuters)

Macau shut down a popular shopping mall adjacent to MGM China's (2282.HK) casino resort on the city's main peninsula after several COVID-19 infections were found, as authorities raced to the biggest outbreak yet in the world's biggest gambling hub.

One Central shopping mall will be shut for one week, while more than a dozen other zones or buildings, have also been ordered to close, authorities said.

Macau locked down one of the city's most famous hotels, the Grand Lisboa on Tuesday, with more 500 people inside.

Macau has reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases since mid-June with more than 14,000 people in mandatory quarantine. The territory had largely been COVID-free since an outbreak in October 2021.

A shopping mall inside the Four Seasons hotel owned by Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) Macau unit Sands China was also requested to shut this week after several cases were found.

The measures come as the government has stopped short of imposing a full lockdown, seen in Chinese cities such as Shanghai. However the city is effectively closed with most facilities shut and restaurants only providing takeaway.

The more than 600,000 residents in the former Portuguese colony have been asked to stay at home when possible and are required to take part in three citywide COVID-19 tests this week. People are also required to take rapid antigen tests in between.

Only Macau's casinos have been allowed to stay open in a move to protect jobs, the government said. Macau gets more than 80% of its tax revenues from the industry with most of the population employed directly or indirectly by the casino resorts.

Although casinos are physically open, there are few patrons and only a small number of staff, with many employees asked to stay home to comply with the government's request.

Macau adheres to China's "zero-COVID" policy which aims to curb all outbreaks, at almost any price, running counter to a global trend of trying to co-exist with the virus. (Reuters)