VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi at a press conference while seeing off the dispatch of the equipment to India aboard a Garuda Indonesia aircraft at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, on Wednesday (May 12, 2021). ANTARA/screenshot-Aria Cindyara - 

The Indonesian government offered humanitarian aid to India through the provision of 200 oxygen concentrators to help it better handle the spread of COVID-19 in the country currently battered by the pandemic.

"The humanitarian aid sent comprises 200 oxygen concentrators," Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L. P. Marsudi stated at a press conference while seeing off the dispatch of the equipment to India aboard a Garuda Indonesia aircraft at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, on Wednesday.

Earlier, the government, in cooperation with Indonesian industry associations and relevant stakeholders, had dispatched 1,400 oxygen cylinders to India on May 10, 2021.

The minister affirmed that as an old and close ally as well as strategic partner, Indonesia had kept abreast of the developments of the pandemic situation in India and was ready to respond to urgent requirements for oxygen supplies to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the south Asian country.

"This humanitarian aid aims to demonstrate solidarity of the people of Indonesia toward India. The assistance is expected to help India deal with the COVID-19 pandemic," she remarked.

Since the pandemic struck, Indonesia and India have worked hand-in-hand to battle the virus. The Indian government has facilitated the exports of raw materials for medicines required by Indonesia during that time. Both nations have also played crucial roles in supporting the vaccine procurement process through the multilateral COVAX facility.

In conversation with Indian Ambassador to Indonesia, Manoj Kumar Bharti, also present at the occasion, the foreign minister expressed Indonesia’s gratitude to India for its support during the pandemic and that it was now Indonesia's turn to show its support.

"Indonesia stands with India in this difficult time, and we are committed to sharing this burden with the Indian people," she remarked//ANT

Mataram City's residents in West Nusa Tenggara are banned from holding or partaking in city-wide convoys to celebrate the takbiran parade on the eve of Eid al-Fitr to stem the potential spread of COVID-19 infections.

However, Mataram residents are permitted to hold the takbiran, or recital of God, at major events inside mosques, Mataram city police chief, Senior Commissioner Heri Wahyudi, stated here on Tuesday.

However, those holding takbiran inside mosques continue to follow the COVID-19 health protocols to avoid crowding. To this end, the takbiran event organizer should restrict the number of attendants to not over 10 percent of a mosque's total capacity, he remarked.

Police personnel will adopt humanistic approaches for the takbiran events on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr festivity that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadhan, he stated.

Community members are firstly advised to steer clear of events where crowding occurs. However, if they still flout the COVID-19 prevention rules, they will be dispersed, Wahyudi cautioned.

The Mataram city police have also established four COVID-19 monitoring posts to ensure that health protocols are applied at places, such as shopping malls, according to Wahyudi.

Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, had determined earlier that the Eid al-Fitr festivity will fall on Thursday.

The final decision was made by referring to the results of "hisab," or calculations, made by the organization's Majelis Tarjih and Tajdid, law-making and reform councils.

Based on the observation of "hilal," or the new moon, conjunction between the sun and the moon would occur on Wednesday, May 12, at 02:03:02 Western Indonesia Time (WIB).

"Thus, 'hilal' will have emerged when the sun goes down in Yogyakarta," Muhammadiyah Secretary Agung Danarto stated at a recent virtual press conference.

The coronavirus disease outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and then spread to various parts of the world, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indonesian government announced the country's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.

Since then, the central and regional governments have made persistent efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve by imposing healthcare protocols and social restrictions.

To break the chain of transmission of COVID-19, which has impacted the purchasing power of scores of families in Indonesia, the government has banned homebound travel, or "mudik," ahead of this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday season akin to last year.

Traditionally, the Eid al-Fitr festivity is often regarded by several Indonesian Muslims as a time to seek blessings and forgiveness from parents and to strengthen "silaturrahim".

However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation, "silaturrahim," or the bonds of friendship, can still be upheld virtually during the Eid al-Fitr festivity. (Antaranews)

People that complied with the government's appeal to not go on a homecoming exodus and not conduct face-to-face meetings had contributed to containing the transmission of COVID-19, Wiku Adisasmito, COVID-19 Handling Task Force spokesperson, stated.

"If the community does not go on a homecoming exodus, it means that it will also contribute to suppressing the transmission," Adisasmito noted during a press conference, monitored virtually from Jakarta, Tuesday.

Moreover, the spokesperson pointed out that not embarking on a homecoming exodus also contributed to lowering the potential for transmission of COVID-19 to the elderly and relatives in their respective areas.

Regarding the tradition of friendly meeting, or silaturahmi, that people usually follow during Eid al-Fitr, Adisasmito has encouraged it to not be face-to-face but instead to apply technology by holding virtual meetings.

The spokesperson invited people to learn from the challenges encumbering India, which in the last two months, experienced a significant increase in cases due to religious and political activities that drew huge crowds.

In March 2021, India had an average positivity rate of 3.4 percent, which dipped to 22.2 percent as of May 6, 2021.

Meanwhile, Indonesia clocked a decline in the positivity rate during the same time frame, specifically in March 2021, during which an average of 14.7 percent was recorded and it decreased to 11.3 percent on May 6, 2021.

This drastic increase burdens healthcare facilities in India, thereby hindering the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and other diseases owing to the large number of new cases.

"Through face-to-face meetings, there is a potential of transmitting and contracting COVID-19. Of course, this can have fatal consequences. I am sure we do not want to regret it," Adisasmito remarked. (antaranews)

Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim, launched the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program with the objective of facilitating Indonesian students to spend a semester studying overseas.

"Through the IISMA program, Indonesian students will be able to follow their dreams to participate in courses in leading universities, develop their cross-cultural abilities, strengthen global networking, and prepare themselves for the current world of work," Minister Makarim remarked during the launch of IISMA from Jakarta on Tuesday.

Makarim thereafter lauded the chancellors of national universities that had forged cooperation with institutions overseas, where the total number of foreign universities under the scheme reached 73 institutions from 31 countries.

"As you may know, I have had the experience of being a university student in Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom. I pursued my dreams in three distinctive environments that have in turn shaped my intellect and character," he remarked.

The minister expressed belief that higher education offers a platform for students to broaden their thinking and chase their dreams, to which end the ministry aims to facilitate Indonesian students.

Makarim affirmed that classroom learning experiences fail to empower students with the skillsets required at the workplace, thereby eventually presenting challenges to them to face the dynamics at the workplace.

"We would like to change that by bringing about transformations that make universities more relevant to the world outside campuses. Students can have the flexibility with the application of best practices in the humanitarian organization industry through the 'Kampus Merdeka' program," he remarked.

The minister further called for continually expanding collaboration-based initiatives to realize the vision of a liberating education, not only at the national scale but also globally.

Meanwhile, Director General of Higher Education from the Ministry, Nizam, remarked that the scholarship program is being implemented in cooperation with the Finance Ministry's Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) Program.

"This is an effort to accelerate the progress of students and to strengthen them by enabling them to study overseas in world-renowned campuses, so that they can avail extraordinary learning and have the opportunity to build their confidence and conduct global networking," he explained. (Antaranews)