VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian has called for the implementation of smart cities across Indonesia to improve the government’s efficiency and supports people’s activities in all sectors.

The concept of a smart city has developed fast and it is needed by the community amid the advancement of information and communications technology, he said in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday at the opening of the Integrated Technology Event (ITE), which has been organized in a hybrid format from December 1–2, 2021.

Hence, it is important for all government officers to be responsive and understand the people's demands for quick public services, he added.

He then asked them to use information technology to help them make decisions quickly and precisely based on accurate data.

"We cannot avoid the change in technology. If we avoid it, we will be left behind in the current competitive situation," the minister emphasized.

Local governments are required to prepare various supporting infrastructures to bolster the smart city concept, including technology-savvy human resources, adequate information infrastructure, support data digitization, as well as budget digitization to make it more transparent, he said.

"The attempt will encourage continuous innovation and create a competitive environment," he said.

However, he said he hoped that the concept will not only be interpreted as a project to provide information technology infrastructure, but also a transformation of the working culture of government officers.

Furthermore, Karnavian said that smart cities must also be able to combine the concept of information technology-based governance and green city.

"Currently, smart cities do not only focus on the use of information technology, but have also begun to adopt the concept of green city," he added.

The opening of the ITE was also attended by the Governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa; director general of regional administration development at the ministry, Safrizal ZA; and a number of heads of districts/cities. (Antaranews)

The establishment of the National Committee for Disabilities could be a good step towards ensuring equality for people with disabilities and creating an inclusive environment for all, the President's Special Staff, Angkie Yudistia, has said.

"The establishment of this National Committee will be a positive first step towards equality or equity for people with disabilities, to create an inclusive, disability-friendly Indonesia environment," she remarked at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

She delivered the statement after President Joko Widodo inducted seven commissioners into the committee.

The National Committee for Disabilities comprises seven commissioners, including a chairman and a deputy chairman, she informed. The seven commissioners comprise four people with disabilities and three able-bodied people, she added.

"This means that this is a form of inclusivity," she remarked.

The special staff also said that the move emphasized the government's commitment to upholding the rights of people with disabilities by protecting and respecting them.

"The seven commissioners have gone through various phases, in which the selection committee has succeeded in creating candidate of leaders who will lead the National Committee for Disabilities," Yudistia revealed.

She described the establishment of the committee as a milestone for Indonesia. The creation of the committee is in accordance with Law Number 8 of 2016 regarding people with disabilities, and it is further reinforced by Presidential Regulation Number 68 of 2020 about the National Committee for Disabilities, she said.

Yudistia emphasized that the committee is proof that people with disabilities have the capability to contribute to national development. (Antaranews)

State Secretary Minister Pratikno spoke of President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) directives to ministers to stay vigilant and respond quickly as a precautionary measure against the new variants: Coronavirus, Omicron, or variant B.1.1.529.

"Ministers must be alerted and always follow the dynamics on the field and react quickly to any possible occasion," Pratikno noted at the State Palace on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, Jokowi had summoned several ministers, including Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs represented by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahendra Siregar, and other relevant ministers to discuss the Omicron variant.

The head of state also urged the ministers to study the cases of Omicron currently emerging in other countries, Pratikno stated.

“The point is that we must always remain vigilant and on alert according to our existing capacity. Further explanations will be provided by the relevant ministers," Pratikno remarked.

Jokowi also urged his staff to continue to expedite COVID-19 vaccination for the public and ensure the implementation of health protocols in the community.

In addition, the head of state requested hospitals to always be ready for a spike in COVID-19 cases, Pratikno stated.

"Hence, if there is an increase in the number of cases, the hospital is always on standby," he stated.

Earlier, the government had implemented a policy as a precautionary measure against the spread of imported cases and new variants of the coronavirus.

The policy temporarily suspends foreign citizens, with a travel history in the last 14 days to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Indonesian citizens, with a history of traveling to these countries in the last 14 days, are still allowed to return to Indonesia, with the obligation to undergo quarantine for 14 days.

Foreigners and Indonesian citizens from other countries not mentioned above are required to undergo quarantine for 7x24 hours.  (Antaranews)

Indonesia and the Republic of Seychelles are exploring opportunities for strategic cooperation and investment based on the blue economy, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has informed.

"I appreciate the Seychelles government's support and cooperation, which encourages public interest and participation in efforts to accelerate a more inclusive, sustainable economic transformation and strategic partnerships in exploring pilot activities or other investments based on the blue economy," Trenggono said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Wednesday.

As a blue economy pioneer country, Seychelles, through its sovereign blue bond program, has realized the fishery potential of an area can be a guarantee for investors, especially for the development of marine tourism, he noted.

The Indonesian government, especially KKP, which manages marine areas, continues to strive to achieve ecological and economic balance as well as technological innovation by applying the blue economy concept, he remarked.

"We have carried out various breakthrough programs by applying the blue economy principle, namely the implementation of measurable fishing for ecological sustainability, increasing fishermen's welfare and also increasing non-tax revenue; developing the cultivation of four leading commodities in the global market, namely shrimp, lobster, crab, and seaweed; as well as the development of aquaculture villages based on local wisdom in freshwaters, brackish waters, and the sea," he explained.

According to the minister, in addition to supporting national food security, the programs will have a multiplier effect on national development.

The policy is also expected to encourage investment opportunities in primary and secondary activities, one of which is managing marine tourism by not forgetting the importance of preserving the ecology, he said.

One of the cooperative efforts by Indonesia and Seychelles was the 'Indonesia-Seychelles Blue Economy Workshop: Opportunities for Collaboration and Investment', held at the KKP Headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday (November 30, 2021).

According to the Special Envoy of the President of Seychelles to ASEAN, Nico Barito, as an archipelagic country, Seychelles pays very serious attention to the issue of saving the environment, especially marine resources.

Therefore, he proposed bilateral collaboration in the marine sector, especially in small islands and sustainable marine tourism, responsible fisheries, conservation, and monitoring of biodiversity and islands to achieve economic growth as well as environmental preservation.

“In building a blue economy, we are focusing on quality over quantity. As in tourism development, it is necessary to apply the concept of development that can minimize its negative impact, namely through the concept of sustainable tourism. Communities, tourists, and host communities as well as local governments must practice the concept of sustainability. In the fishing zone, it is also necessary to set a quota of fish that can be caught for industry, traditional fishermen, and quotas for hobbies and tourism to avoid overfishing," he informed.

He also expressed the wish for collaboration in investment related to Seychelles' best practices in the blue economy and the preparation of policy recommendations to achieve blue economy coherence; exploration of facilities and infrastructure in setting priorities for coastal management, including monitoring, research, coastal protection, and risk-based spatial planning; as well as increasing the capacity of marine and fisheries human resources.

Meanwhile, Indonesia proposed cooperation in the development of tourism destinations such as Maratua Island in Kalimantan and other potential locations through the expansion of world-class international hotel networks; active synergy in attracting foreign investment through guaranteed Indonesian marine wealth (Blue Bonds) as an effort to build a sustainable Indonesian marine and fisheries sector; develop marine and fisheries human resources; as well as benchmark the development of marine tourism with the development of marine tourism training modules at Indonesian tourist sites.

Seychelles was the first country to launch sovereign blue bonds on the sidelines of the Our Ocean Conference on October 28, 2018, in Bali.

The export value of Indonesian fishery products to Seychelles in 2020 was recorded at US$546,428 an increase of about 733 percent from the previous year when it was pegged at US$74,449. (Antaranews)