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PLN Gradually Recovers Electricity Supply (0)
State-owned electricity firm PT PLN has recovered electric power to Balaraja Extra High Voltage substation in Banten Province, and furthermore it will be channeled to Suralaya steam-fueled power plant (PLTU) to gradually recover its operation to reach its capacity of 2800 MW of electricity.
In addition, power supply from Gandul Extra High Voltage substations in Depok, West Java Province, will be channeled to Muara Karang gas and steam power plant (PLTGU) to supply electricity to the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta.
Acting President Director of PLN Sripeni Inten Cahyani said here on Sunday that the power supply to Jakarta was expected to recover within three hours.
"We apologize for the inconvenience today, and currently all efforts have been made to recover the Java-Bali power system, especially in the area of West Java, Banten, and Jakarta," Cahyani said.
The company has focused on power supply to PLTGU Muara Karang and PLTGU Priok to recover the system in the capital city.
Previously, PLN has recovered the operation of hydro-generated power plant (PLTA) Saguling and PLTA Cirata which are functioned as power stabilizer, and, at the same time, supply the electricity to PLTU Suralaya through Cibinong, Depok, Gandul, Lengkok, Balaraja and Suralaya extra high voltage substations.
PLTU Suralaya is expected to return to its normal operation within six hours to normalize power system in West Java and Banten.
Blackout that affected thousands of homes and public facilities in West Java, Jakarta, and Banten was caused by several troubles in the extra high voltage 500 kV transmission of Ungaran - Pemalang.
"PLN has taken its best efforts and will have evaluation to prevent recurrence of today's incident," Cahyani said.
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January
West Java to focus on developing tourism villages this year
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Tourism and Culture Office of West Java has said that it will accord greater focus to developing tourism villages in 2023 to attract more tourists.
"Tourism villages have the potential to bring foreign tourists to West Java. The focus of tourism development is also in line with the existing regional regulation. Thus, this is what we are currently strengthening in West Java," Head of the West Java Tourism and Culture Office Benny Bachtiar said here on Tuesday.
In order to develop tourism villages to attract foreign tourists, the office will seek inputs from the Indonesian diaspora in Australia to discuss the needs of foreign tourists that West Java will need to cater to, he informed.
"Diasporas usually bring tourists to Indonesia but not to West Java because West Java is deemed not yet ready," he said.
According to Bachtiar, tourism villages can serve as an option for foreign tourists visiting West Java region. For that reason, tourism villages have become the most important thing and will be focused on in 2023.
"Because until now, West Java has not been able to provide a tourist destination that has been requested by foreign tourists. Nevertheless, we are trying to attract local or foreign tourists," he said.
The progress of tourism development in West Java has been quite good. In 2022, five West Java tourism villages were included in the list of the top 50 Indonesian Tourism Village Awards (ADWI) from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
The five tourism villages were Cisande Village in Sukabumi District, Gegesik Kulon in Cirebon District, Alam Endah Village in Bandung District, Selasari Village in Pangandaran District, and Saung Ciburial Village in Garut District.
"Inshallah (if God wills), we will invite the diaspora to discuss the infrastructure that is needed or can attract foreign tourists to visit West Java," he said. (antaranews)
January
East Java offers to export porang, bird's nests to China
Written by Nur Yasmin
During a meeting with the Consul General of the People's Republic of China, Xu Yong, on Tuesday, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa offered to export porang and bird’s nests to China.
"I express my hope to export porang and bird’s nests to China," the governor said after meeting with Consul General Yong at Grahadi Building, Surabaya.
East Java is the largest porang producer in Indonesia, Parawansa noted. Porang is a food source that is low in carbohydrates and calories and is protein-free, she added.
"I hope that later the Consul General can invite investors to come here, see the factory directly, or invest in building a factory here to expand market potential for East Java porang farmers," she said.
In addition to porang, Parawansa also discussed exports of bird’s nests. According to her, of the total national production of bird’s nests, 30 percent comes from East Java.
Given the large production, she said she believes that East Java bird’s nests can meet the needs of toddlers in China as the commodity is popular among them.
"If we can find trade common ground for the two commodities, it will bring a great impact for porang and bird’s nests farmers in East Java," she added.
During the meeting, Parawansa also broached several cooperation programs in the fields of economy, education, culture, and tourism between East Java and China.
In the period from January–October 2022, trade between East Java and China in various commodities was significant, with exports valued at US$2,697.87 million and imports recorded at US$5,869.01 million, leading to a deficit of US$3,171.14 million.
This led to China ranking as the third largest export destination for East Java. As a country of import origin for East Java, China ranked first.
According to data, in the period from 2010 to the third quarter of 2022, Chinese investment in East Java flowed into 361 projects, with the investment value recorded at US$368.67 million. The biggest business sectors were trade and repair, the food industry, basic metal industry, and metal goods except for machinery and equipment.
Consul General Yong, who has served for one month in East Java, said he is optimistic that cooperation with East Java will continue to increase in the future.
"I hope that we will become strategic partners who can develop various collaborations in the fields of economy, education, tourism, and fisheries, for the welfare of people in both regions," Parawansa disclosed. (Antaranews)
January
Three-fold increase recorded in tourism, creative economy workers: Minister
Written by Nur Yasmin
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno highlighted that the number of workers in the tourism industry and creative economy had tripled to three million from the target in 2022.
"We only aimed for an additional of 1.1 million workers in 2022. However, the number has reached three million. This is three times bigger than our prediction," Uno noted at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
Thus, there were more than three million jobs in the tourism industry and the creative economy in 2022, he remarked.
He stated that increasing employment in the tourism industry and the creative economy will boost people's welfare and increase their income.
Uno had submitted a report to President Joko Widodo on Monday regarding the revival of the tourism and creative economy sectors that have been quite visible as compared to during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year holidays, the number of tourists, both local and foreign, had increased at various tourism destinations, he stated.
"The revival has been very visible and the target for foreign tourist arrivals has been exceeded this year. From the target of 3.6 million, we have achieved 5.2 million foreign tourists. The increase is almost 70 percent above the target," the minister remarked.
In addition, the added value from the creative economy industry has reached Rp300 trillion in 2022 or exceeded the target set by the government, he noted.
Uno outlined that one of the challenges in 2023 is to increase tourism growth, albeit remaining careful of the dangers of health risks following the lifting of the implementation of community activity restrictions (PPKM).
"PPKM's revocation will bring more foreign tourists to us. We will remain on alert to maintain tourism activities that have a lot of economic impacts that can help us to recover and grow bigger in 2023," he stated.
According to the minister, after the PPKM revocation on December 30, 2022, tourist destinations were immediately thronged by tourists. He believed the decision will accelerate the revival of the tourism sector and the creative economy.
"Yesterday, the concert in Labuan Bajo was full of six thousand participants, and almost every activity in leading destinations, Bali, and five other super priority destinations were packed. This is very exciting, and we will maintain the momentum of this recovery," Uno concluded. (Antaranews)
January
Ministry issues circular asking regions to support 2024 elections
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Home Affairs Ministry has issued Circular Letter Number 900.1.9/9095/SJ, asking regional heads to support and ease the implementation stages of the 2024 General Elections.
According to a statement received on Monday, the circular has been signed by secretary general of the Home Affairs Ministry Suhajar Diantoro.
Such support from regional governments is mandated by Article 434 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections.
It is also in accordance with the Circular of the Chairperson of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Number 1164/PP.04-SD/04/2022 concerning supporting the central government and regional governments in establishing an ad hoc body for the implementation of the 2024 election.
In the circular, Diantoro outlined a number of supports that need to be provided by local governments, such as providing facilities for sub-district election committees (PPK) and voting committees (PPS).
Regional governments are also required to deploy personnel to assist in the establishment of the PPK and PPS secretariats.
In accordance with the law, the PPK secretariats must be established no later than January 10, 2023, while the PPS Secretariat needs to be formed no later than January 24.
Furthermore, regional heads have been asked to give permission to civil servants to register for PPK, PPS, voting organizing group (KPPS), and voter registration committee (Pantarlih), especially if there is no registrant from the general public who meets the requirements.
Regional governments have also been asked to deploy community security units (Satlinmas) to maintain public order during the 2024 General Elections.
In addition, local governments have been asked to support health checks and the issuance of certificates of physical and mental health at government-owned health centers to fulfill the administrative requirements for registering as members of the ad hoc body.
"(Local governments also need to provide) support for the dissemination of the establishment of the ad hoc body to the community for the implementation of the 2024 election,” Diantoro added. (Antaranews)
January
68.57 million Indonesians receive third COVID-19 vaccine dose
Written by Nur Yasmin
The number of Indonesians who have received the third dose or the first booster of the COVID-19 vaccine reached 68.57 million as of 12 p.m. local time on Monday, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force reported.
According to data received from the COVID-19 Task Force in Jakarta, the number of residents who have received the third dose increased by 33,831 on Monday, bringing the total to 68,571,382.
Overall, 29.23 percent of the 234,666,020 targeted recipients have been vaccinated with the third dose so far.
Meanwhile, the number of recipients of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine increased by 12,376 to 174,784,256, or 74.48 percent of the total target.
The number of first dose recipients increased by 8,410 to 204,034,974, or 86.92 percent of the total target.
The number of recipients of the fourth dose, which is currently still reserved for health workers and the elderly, increased by 3,101 to 1,173,063.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that vaccinations will need to continue to be increased in 2023.
Vaccination is the responsibility of the community for protecting themselves and those around them from the risk of COVID-19 transmission as the government intervention in the form of the public activity restrictions (PPKM) policy has been revoked.
"The use of masks is recommended for narrow closed spaces and crowded situations. We return it to the community, if you feel healthy in the open air, you may not wear a mask,” the minister said.
According to Sadikin, the government is responding to the pandemic-to-endemic transition by reducing public health interventions, but the public needs to increase awareness by measuring their health themselves.
"President Joko Widodo is encouraging community participation,” the minister said.
COVID-19 vaccinations must continue despite the revocation of the PPKM policy on December 30, 2022, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said earlier.
The Java-Bali PPKM coordinator assured of the availability of medicines and vitamins during the pandemic-to-endemic transition.
"Vaccination must continue to run in line with the provision of medicines and vitamins at health facilities during the transition period. In addition, the availability of oxygen must also be maintained," he said.
The public health emergency and national disaster status still apply for COVID-19 considering the global situation, Pandjaitan added.
The government has also formulated a strategy to prevent a spike in cases if a new variant emerges later.
Currently, there are 17 whole genome sequencing (WGS) laboratory networks that can gather information to handle such variants.
The government will also measure community resilience every six months and prepare a booklet to assist people in taking action if there are new cases, he informed.
He said that the decision to revoke PPKM was taken after considering the controlled COVID-19 situation, a high level of community immunity (95.8 percent), better health capacity readiness, and fast economic recovery.
The success in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic was also the result of the integration of policies by various elements, starting from the central government, local governments, the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), National Police (Polri), health workers, academics, and the community based on data-based work, science, and the use of technology, he added.
"This success must be applied in other development policies," he emphasized. (Antaranews)
January
Political Minister Asked Public to Oversee Election Agenda
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD asked the public to participate in overseeing the 2024 General Election agenda, and maintaining peace in the life of the nation and state in the 2023 political year.
"In 2023 there will be a number of important political agendas; constitutional agenda ahead of 2024 elections," Mahfud said in a live broadcast on national TV to welcome the new year on Saturday night.
Mahfud emphasized that Indonesians are determined to hold the elections on schedule. He underlined the importance of efforts to monitor the political agenda so that it can run peacefully and smoothly.
Mahfud reminded that some election stages will be conducted in 2023 and they must be guarded properly.
Some of these activities are the presidential and vice presidential candidacy, as well as the candidacy for members of the House of Representative (DPR), Provincial House of Representatives (DPRD), and District/City House of Representatives.
"We hope our life will remain peaceful and orderly," he said. (antaranews)
January
Welcome 2023 with spirit of taking Indonesia forward: President
Written by Nur Yasmin
President Joko Widodo on Saturday reiterated his determination to welcome the New Year with a commitment to ensure Indonesia’s further development following the successes achieved in 2022.
In tweets on his official Twitter account, @jokowi, the President said that 2022 provided valuable lessons to the nation so that it can continue to progress in 2023.
"What we must remember from 2022 that we will leave soon? A lot. Some are joyful, while some are less joyful. Everything happens successively to provide valuable lessons, as well as to strengthen and unite us," he added.
He said that Indonesia successfully brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control while maintaining a positive economic recovery.
Indonesia was successful in recording 5.72-percent year-on-year economic growth in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 1.8 percent from the second quarter.
Meanwhile, on December 30, the President officially revoked the public activity restrictions (PPKM) policy that was issued to control the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. However, he emphasized that residents must remain vigilant as the pandemic is not yet over.
Continuing his thread, the President also highlighted Indonesia's successful G20 Presidency, which concluded with the G20 Summit in Bali on November 15–16.
In 2022, Indonesia was also endowed with political stability and security, and managed to maintain national development according to the plan, he said in his tweet.
The President also noted that Indonesia experienced several natural disasters in 2022, such as earthquakes and floods, which caused the loss of lives.
Concluding his thread, he urged the Indonesian people to face 2023 with the spirit of taking Indonesia forward.
"With all of those, we will leave 2022 and face 2023 with the spirit to bring Indonesia to moving forward," the President tweeted. (antaranews)
January
Keep up the spirit for national development in 2023: VP Amin
Written by Nur Yasmin
Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has asked all parties to welcome 2023 with the good spirit to continue the development in Indonesia.
"In welcoming the 2023 New Year, let's stay enthusiastic about developing our beloved country, Indonesia, by continuing to be optimistic and confident that tomorrow will be better," the vice president said in a video broadcast on his Instagram account @setwapres.ri, which was monitored here on Sunday.
Amin said with the help of God Almighty, the nation's hard work will be able to improve equitable welfare for all people.
"Happy New Year 2023 to all of us. Continue to maintain health protocols, including in celebrating the coming of the new year for our safety," he said.
May God blessed the nation for its efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous Indonesia.
Previously, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on his Instagram account @jokowi also invited all parties to welcome new hopes, challenges and opportunities in 2023.
"Let's welcome new hopes, challenges and opportunities. Keep the spirit to welcome 2023 towards an advanced Indonesia," Jokowi said in his official Instagram account @jokowi, as quoted here on Sunday.
President Jokowi on his Twitter account @jokowi on Saturday also invited all parties to welcome the 2023 New Year with the determination to take Indonesia one step further.
The President said many things and events that occurred throughout 2022 had taught many lessons.
"What should we remember from 2022 which will soon pass? There are many. There are happy things, there are also many things that are less fun," the president tweeted.
"All of these events took place one after another, taught lessons, as well as strengthened and further united," he added.
The President also reminded that Indonesia has managed to get through the pandemic and the threat of recession through a positive economic growth. (antaranews)
December
Ministry ups coordination to mitigate extreme weather impact
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Transportation Ministry has intensified coordination with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to anticipate the impact of extreme weather during the holiday period.
"Due to the high increase in passengers and the potential for extreme weather, which can endanger travel safety during the Christmas and New Year holiday this time, we will continue to coordinate intensively," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said here on Thursday.
A surge in public mobility and bad weather during the holiday period have been predicted in several areas, including West Java province, Central Java province, Sunda Strait, Bali Strait, and Lombok Strait.
The minister said that recommendations for mitigating the impact of the weather conditions are urgently needed by his ministry as well as transportation facility and infrastructure managers for issuing transportation policies, such as delaying or canceling flights or shipping.
“We really need this recommendation to provide a warning (to transportation mode managers and passengers). When the weather is declared unfavorable and could endanger travel safety, we will issue a policy to postpone trips until the weather become better," he added.
In addition, Sumadi will coordinate with regional heads, especially the ones experiencing a surge in public mobility, to ensure greater alertness against weather dynamics.
“Due to the (bad) weather, a number of transportation incidents have occurred. Hence, we ask the director generals (at the ministry) to apply stricter policies, for example, limiting vehicles carrying certain loads or canceling trips for the sake of public safety," he said.
During the same meeting, head of the BMKG, Dwikorita Karnawati, said that based on the weather forecast for the period from December 29, 2022, to January 1, 2023, there is a potential for moderate to very heavy rain in the Greater Jakarta area.
"Tomorrow (December 30), the potential for rain with heavy to very heavy intensity will occur in most areas of Greater Jakarta. Meanwhile, on the day after tomorrow (December 31) and January 1, 2023, the rain intensity will be light to moderate," she informed.
Meanwhile, BRIN head Laksana Tri Handoko said that his agency has used Weather Modification Technology (TMC) to reduce the intensity of rainfall.
"We have conducted (cloud) seeding in a number of areas since December 25 to December 28, 2022, and will continue (to do it) until early January 2023," he informed.
Furthermore, head of the BNPB, Lieutenant General Suharyanto, said that the TMC can be implemented when a local government declares an emergency situation.
"If an emergency situation has been declared, the TMC team will quickly carry out (cloud) seeding operation by plane," he added. (antaranews)
December
The number of patients recovering from COVID-19 increased by 1,437 as of 12 p.m. local time on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 6,544,228, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force reported.
According to data received from the task force here on Thursday, the most additional recoveries were recorded in West Java (504), Jakarta (395), Central Java (121), East Java (74), and Banten (57).
In addition, the number of active cases fell by 761 from the previous day to reach 13,964. However, the number of positive cases still continued to rise, though the increase was lower. Indonesia recorded 685 additional cases on Thursday, which lifted the total figure to 6,718,775.
The most positive cases were reported from West Java (198), Jakarta (189), Banten (62), East Java (56), and Central Java (52).
The number of deaths also increased by 9 to reach 160,583. Meanwhile, 2,678 people were suspected to have contracted COVID-19. As many as 36,602 specimens were examined in laboratories throughout Indonesia.
Based on reports obtained from the PeduliLindungi application, in the past two weeks, the Health Ministry detected at least 247 instances of patients infected with COVID-19 visiting public facilities.
"In the last two weeks, the application is still recording check-in data into public places," the ministry's chief digital transformation office, Setiaji, informed.
He said that based on the data collected, a total of 11,129,600 people had green status or had received the COVID-19 booster dose, 571,577 people had yellow status or had not received a booster vaccination, 90,693 had red status or had not received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,and 247 people had a black status or were positive for COVID-19.
Unfortunately, as the COVID-19 pandemic situation is getting under control in the country, compliance with the use of the PeduliLindungi application as a health screening tool in several public spaces is starting to slacken.
Therefore, Setiaji asked all managers of public places to continue to use the application as a tool provided by the government to help control the spread of COVID-19.
The PeduliLindungi application has been provided by the government as a tool to help the community conduct testing, tracing, and treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not just check-in features, the application also offers international certificate features, test results, and other features.
"The implementation and the sanctions for violators in the application follow the rules of community activity restrictions (PPKM) and the implementation of the Instructions of the Minister of Home Affairs by each region," he added. (antaranews)