VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Chief of the Presidential Staff Office, Moeldoko. (ANTARA/HO-Kantor Staf Presiden) - 

Chief of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Moeldoko, lauded the progress made on the sexual violence prevention bill after the legislative body of the House of Representatives agreed to designate the bill as legislature's initiative.

The designation of the bill as legislature's initiative, which was agreed upon after deliberations concluded on Wednesday (December 8, 2021), allows the bill to proceed to the next step before its ratification.

"The legislative body has grasped and understood public aspirations and, reflecting on sexual violence cases, translated it into a formidable commitment to prevent and eradicate sexual violence," Moeldoko said in a written statement issued in Jakarta on Saturday.

To ensure quick ratification of the bill, the KSP has initiated a cross-institution task force, the chief said.

The cross-institution task force comprises the Presidential Staff Office, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, the Attorney General's Office, and the National Police, he informed.

Deputy V of the KSP, Jaleswari Pramodhawardhani, who is also serving as the task force's deputy head, expressed the hope that the task force will be successful in advancing the bill.

"Stakeholders from multiple sectors that will converge on this task force are members of the public, academics, and media. We hope the sexual violence prevention bill will advance till its finalization and become a hope for sexual violence victims upon its ratification," she said.

Meanwhile, deputy minister of Law and Human Rights, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, informed that the task force will coordinate with institutions on various levels to ensure the speedy ratification of the bill.

Proposed in 2016, the sexual violence prevention bill has remained stalled ever since due to objections raised by members of the public and challenging negotiations among the parliamentary parties for a compromise on the bill's wording and clauses.

Parliament members agreed to include the bill on the national legislative program earlier this year after intensive public advocacy and compromise among parliamentary parties//ANT

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi. (ANTARA/Bernadus Tokan) - 

Indonesia has been re-elected as a category C member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council for the 2022-2023 term.

"The re-election of Indonesia as an IMO council member reflects the world’s recognition of its existence in the international maritime sector," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in a written statement released on Saturday.

Indonesia was re-elected following a vote conducted at the IMO headquarters in London on Friday, he informed.

The IMO currently has 175 member states, 40 of which are members of the IMO council under categories A, B, and C, Sumadi said.

Category A comprises 10 member states representing the largest international commercial shipping fleets as the largest providers of international sea transportation services.

Category B is made up of 10 member states representing the largest interests in the international seaborne trade. Category C has 20 member states representing special interests in sea transportation or navigation and representing all of the world’s main geographical regions.

The re-election of Indonesia as an IMO council member has offered a chance to the country to take part in formulating IMO policies, which have a significant influence on the maritime sector, Sumadi said.

Meanwhile, acting Director General of Sea Transportation at the Transportation Ministry Arif Toha said the election of IMO council members for 2021 was conducted through a secret ballot, the same voting system used in the previous years.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), this year, through heavy struggle, we managed to vie for 20 seats, bearing in mind that the competition was quite tight. In 2019, we competed with 24 countries, while this year, 27 countries nominated themselves for (IMO council membership),” he added//ANT

Deported Indonesian migrant workers were accommodated at a Nunukan flat in North Kalimantan. ANTARA/Rusman - 

Malaysia has deported 229 Indonesian workers in Sabah, Malaysia, including eight children, to North Kalimantan's district of Nunukan.

"Hundreds of the deported migrant workers were already vaccinated in Malaysia and have the results of the PCR test," Head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Board (BP2MI) of the Nunukan branch Adjunct Senior Commissioner F. J. Ginting stated here on Saturday.

Ginting noted that the migrant workers arrived at the Tunon Taka Port in Nunukan District on Friday (Dec 10) at around 5:15 p.m. local time.

Upon arrival at the port, the workers were taken by the immigration officer and local police for examination of health documents and swab test by the Port Health Office (KKP).

Ginting explained that the health checks were conducted stringently to prevent the entry of the new omicron variant of COVID-19 that had been detected in Malaysia.

The deportees comprise 44 women, 177 men, and eight children, out of which 87 came from East Nusa Tenggara and 37 from South Sulawesi, while the rest came from West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and the islands of Sumatra and Java.

As many as 127 workers were deported for not being able to present a working permit, 61 were arrested for drug-related crimes, two for murder, and other crimes.

The workers were temporarily accommodated in Rusunawa for five days before being sent back to their respective villages, Ginting stated//ANT

The Presidential Staff Office hosting an event in Salatiga, Central Java. (ANTARA/HO-KSP) - 

The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) reminded people to stay alert despite the current COVID-19 situation being under control, as the threat of a third wave was still lurking, especially during the year-end holidays.

"The government has no intention to scare (you) but to raise vigilance (instead). The government is studying existing cases from other countries that were affected first and we do not want (such) conditions to happen again in Indonesia," KSP Senior Advisor Abraham Wirotomo said in a statement here on Saturday.

​​He also encouraged attendees at the "Presidential Staff Office Listens" event in Salatiga, Central Java to push for cooperation between the government and the community to prevent the third wave. The attendees comprised 68 representatives of community, religious, and youth organizations of Salatiga City.

"Conditions leading up to Christmas and New Year are very dynamic. There are many changes that make the government to adjust policies. We are here to listen to inputs from the community. As the president said, people's views must be heard because Indonesia cannot possibly succeed in fighting the pandemic without the community's support," he elaborated.

The office regularly hosts such an event in regions as a part of their functions to support the management of political communication strategies and information dissemination that encompasses the delivery of data analysis and strategic information in order to back decision-making processes.

The event was conducted to facilitate the people of Salatiga to voice their aspirations. Salatiga City has become an example for COVID-19 control.

However, last week, the city was taken aback by the surfacing of a COVID-19 cluster in an elementary school where dozens of teachers and students got infected. The Salatiga government also decided to stop limited face-to-face learning at the school.

"It has been three months since we recorded zero deaths due to COVID-19 as well as new cases. Salatiga is known to be quick to trace close contacts. However, it must be admitted that there are still many people, who do not want to be examined despite close contact with COVID-19 patients," Head of the Salatiga Healh Office Siti Zuraidah admitted//ANT