VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Continental Shelf Bill could strengthen Indonesia’s stance on the issue, Acting Director General of Marine Spatial Management at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Pamuji Lestari has said.

The bill was initiated by the government to strengthen Indonesia’s legal standing in negotiations or claims for settlement of maritime boundaries with neighboring countries, she informed in a press release here on Saturday.

"Since 2017, the ministry has initiated in submitting the bill to the President, while the related ministries and institutions have reviewed it," she added.

She also noted that the bill has currently been included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) of the 2021 Priority Bill.

Hence, the ministry will continue to accommodate the aspirations of academics and experts in the marine sector to refine the contents of the bill, the acting director general said.

The utilization of the continental shelf in Indonesia currently covers fisheries activities, exploration of oil, gas and minerals, establishment of submarine pipelines and cables, construction of marine structures, research on geophysical-based conservation and submarine volcano locations, she informed.

The ministry plans to encourage the use of marine bio-pharmacology, marine biotechnology, the use of sea waves apart from energy, marine tourism, salt production, and retrieval of valuable objects from sunken ships (BMKT), she added.

"The Continental Shelf Bill will not only regulate the utilization of marine environment, but also attempts to protect it, such as preventing pollution and environmental destruction, as well as mitigation, rehabilitation, and recovery efforts," Lestari added.

Meanwhile, Gadjah Mada University academic I Made Andi Arsana said that to maintain Indonesia’s marine ecosystem well, it is necessary to conduct patrols.

"If we do not want the environment to be misused by other parties, we must be able to detect, guard, and patrol the waters," he said. (antaranews)

Volcanic ash expelled by Mount Semeru in Lumajang District has reached Malang District, an official from the Regional Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), Malang, confirmed on Saturday.



Acting head of the emergency and logistics department of the Malang BPBD, Sadono Irawan, said that the agency has received reports of volcanic ashfall in Malang District, which is located west of Mount Semeru.



"Though Malang District has not directly been affected by the eruption, the volcanic ash has reached several regions in the district," Irawan informed.



Volcanic ashfall has been reported in Ampelgading, Tirtoyudo, Wajak, and Bantur Sub-districts of Malang, he said.



Meanwhile, Ampelgading sub-district head Achmad Sovie confirmed that despite the volcanic ashfall in the region, the sub-district, located close to Lumajang district, is relatively safe as the eruption has not directly affected it.



"Regions in Malang are relatively safe from the Semeru eruption in Lumajang," Sovie said.



The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) informed that there was an increase in volcanic activity on the 3,676-meter Mount Semeru, which led to an eruption at 3.20 p.m. local time (UTC +7) on Saturday afternoon.



The agency confirmed that the eruption dispersed volcanic ash over several regions, and the pyroclastic flow was headed to Besuk Kobokan in Pronojiwo sub-district, Lumajang district.



The Mount Semeru volcano observation post in Gunung Sawur reported that pyroclastic flow from the volcano occurred from 2.47 p.m.



The observation post later informed that by 3.10 p.m., a clear visual of the volcanic ash reaching Besuk Kobokan had been obtained, with reports of a strong sulphuric odor.



Lumajang District Deputy Head Indah Amperawati instructed officers from Lumajang BPBD and the Social Office to set up evacuation centers and public kitchens for residents affected by the eruption and inspect affected areas to pick up residents confined to their homes by the thick volcanic ash. (Antaranews)

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has said that the health industry has become a priority investment sector in the midst of the global pandemic.

"Reflecting upon our experience in handling COVID-19, Indonesia needs to reduce its dependence on imported products. Thus, the health industry has become one of the priority investment sectors," he remarked at the 2021 Health Business Gathering in Bali on Friday.

The current global health trend is pushing the growth of the healthcare industry due to the pandemic, changing customer demand, shifting focus on cost control, the discovery of new therapies, as well as digital and telemedicine innovation, he noted.

"The health industry has great potential in Indonesia as middle-class households’ income has increased and universal healthcare is increasingly encouraged," the coordinating minister stated.

He said he believed that supporting the development of the industry will increase the variety of exported products and reduce exports of raw materials.

Furthermore, he informed that Indonesia's trade deficit in medical devices increased almost fourfold from US$161 million in 2013 to US$531 million in 2020.

In fact, over the last two years, Indonesia’s imports have climbed by more than 10 percent to reach US$703 million in 2020, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, exports have grown by just around three percent to five percent in the last three years, he said. In fact, they were pegged at just US$171 million in 2020, he added.

Indonesia relies heavily on imports of advanced medical devices, while its exported products are limited despite the country having all the necessary production resources, the minister said.

“Almost all medical device imports continue to increase, with the highest record being the electrodiagnosis devices by US$87 million, ultrasonic scanning devices by US$70 million, as well as needles, catheters, cannula and such by US$43 million," he noted.

At the same event, coordinating deputy for investment and mining at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Septian Hario Seto, inked three Letters of Intent (LoI) worth around Rp110 billion with three medical device companies.

Another 30 companies are expected to invest and manufacture medical devices in Indonesia soon, he informed. (Antaranews)

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga accentuated that women should be competent in terms of possessing digital literacy skills to protect themselves from the dire impacts of the internet.

Access to the internet can have dire impacts on its users if they are not competent in digital literacy, Puspayoga noted during a discussion on the topic “Knowing the Social Media Crime to Strengthen the Family Security” on Saturday.

"The borderless characteristics of the digital world recently led to various crimes that we need to stay alert for, such as online gender-based harassment,” she emphasized.

The online gender-based harassment has higher risks amid the pandemic, she noted.

According to the Women's National Commission in 2021, cases of online gender-based harassment climbed by four folds, from 2019 to 2020.

Online gender-based harassment is also risky for children, she added.

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission received as many as 621 reports on pornography and cybercrimes involving children in 2020.

“Hence, digital literacy in women not only plays an important role for protecting themselves but also their children,” she noted.

Moreover, enhancing digital literacy is not only the duty of mothers but also the fathers, she stated.

“Both parents and children should understand the various risks posed by the internet, the prevalent crime modes, protective tools on the internet, and how to protect ourselves while using the internet,” she remarked. (Antaranews)