VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling Wiku Adisasmito urged people to abide by the ban on the homecoming exodus, reminding that the surge in cases could encumber health facilities in several regions.

"When the number of cases is high, health facilities will not be adequate in the event of a large increase in cases," Adisasmito remarked during a virtual press conference monitored from Jakarta on Thursday.

The government’s spokesperson invited various parties to take a cue from past experiences wherein the number of COVID-19 cases had significantly spiked during the long holidays, including during Eid al-Fitr last year.

To this end, the government finally issued a ban on the Eid al-Fitr homecoming exodus that is in effect for the May 6-17 period during which scores of individuals usually traveled to their hometowns.

However, Adisasmito admitted to non-compliance to the ban among several people, who had traveled to their hometowns before the enforcement of the ban on homecoming exodus.

In the wake of this, the government has finally tightened travel conditions for the period from April 22 to May 5, 2021.

However, despite the enforcement of these restrictive regulations, several people travel with the required permits for those keen on making emergency trips.

"This will certainly be a burden on the regional government that must take precautionary measures against an increase in the number of people coming and the likelihood of infection occurring. The people should really understand the conditions that not every region has the same readiness," Adisasmito remarked.

On the occasion, the spokesperson noted that the Task Force had coordinated with various ministries and institutions to ensure all are on the same page regarding regulations on the homecoming exodus ban. (Antaranews)

Spokesperson for COVID-19 of the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, conveyed that 59 travelers from India in Indonesia had tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"During the period from December 28, 2020, to April 25, 2021, we received 59 positive cases of travelers from India," Tarmizi noted in a virtual statement to reporters on Thursday.

Of the 59 positive cases, 49 were foreign nationals from India and 10 were Indonesian citizens.

The spokesperson revealed that 26 positive cases were among those detected in travelers from India on April 10-25, 2021.

"Of the 26 cases, 24 were Indian citizens and two were Indonesian citizens," she confirmed.

According to the spokesperson, specimens were taken for 26 positive cases to be examined for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) or genome sequencing to look for a potential mutation or new variant of SARS-Cov-2 that causes COVID-19, such as B117, B1617, and B1351.

"Examination of specimens is conducted by sampling for the arrival of those during the period from December 28 to April 10, 2021. We are still awaiting specimens from the 26 positive ones and specimens that were sampled during the previous period," she stated. (Antaranews)

Calling micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) critical pillars of the Indonesian economy, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has highlighted the pressing need for inter-sectoral collaboration to support their development.

“Support, cooperation, and collaboration in building national, effective, and technology-based MSMEs and industries ahead of Industry 4.0 era necessitate to be enhanced. By involving experts and business professionals, I believe that we all have the same spirit of aiding and developing MSMEs during this pandemic and digital era,” he said at an online event organized for the Leader, Executive & Entrepreneur Program of the Industry & Business Institute of Management (IBIMA) here on Wednesday.

According to the Cooperative and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry, the total number of MSMEs in Indonesia has reached 64.2 million, with their contribution to the national GDP (gross domestic product) pegged at 61.07 percent, or Rp8,573.89 trillion.

MSMEs absorb 97 percent of the national work force and account for 60.4 percent of the total investment. However, a great number of MSMEs in Indonesia still face several challenges, Hartarto said.

To help MSMEs meet the challenges, the government has launched some support programs for them, he added. They include provision of incentives under the national economic recovery (PEN) program, the microcredit program (KUR), the Proud of Indonesian Product Movement (Gernas BBI), MSME marketing digitalization program, entrepreneur reinforcement of pre-employment card alumni through the microcredit program, and a long-term strategy to improve MSMEs through the omnibus law, he expounded.

The lessons learnt from the current pandemic include boosting the goods consumption pattern, which has shifted from offline to online platforms, as indicated by internet traffic of 15-20 percent, the minister said.

“This can be a momentum to accelerate the digital transformation and (tap) the potential of Indonesia’s digital economy that is still widely open, with its fourth-biggest population in the world as well as internet penetration reaching 196.7 million people,” Hartarto pointed out.

This would be in line with President Joko Widodo’s direction to transform 2021 into a year full of opportunities, a year of national and global economic recoveries, he said.

“I appreciate IBIMA that has organized such an activity because this also supports the government’s programs in facilitating MSMEs to grow and develop in this country,” he remarked.

Furthermore, the retail sector has seen an increase in sales during the first quarter of 2021, he said. Some sub-groups of spending that rose during the first quarter of 2021 were supermarkets, restaurants, medical and household goods, and fashion.

Based on the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), Indonesia’s manufacturing sector also showed an accelerated growth by April, 2021, with the index breaking its highest record to reach 54.6 from 53.2 the previous month.

“The improvement in demand, either in industry or sub-group of retail spending, is expected to forge the spirit of the industry players and MSMEs to become more productive,” Hartarto said. (Antaranews)

Indonesia’s open unemployment rate dropped to 6.26 percent in February, 2021 from 7.07 percent in August, 2020, according to a survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). "The open unemployment rate in February, 2021 stood at 6.26 percent, falling from 7.07 percent recorded in August (2020). This means there has been an improvement, though it has not returned to the previous level," BPS chief Suhariyanto said at an online press conference here on Wednesday.

The decline in the open unemployment rate was higher among women than men, he disclosed.

The open unemployment rate in women was 6.46 percent in August, 2020 and dropped to 5.41 percent in February, 2021, he said. Meanwhile, the open unemployment rate in men was 7.48 percent in August, 2020 and fell to 6.81 percent in February, 2021, he added.

"The open unemployment rate for women and men dropped 1.05 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively," he said.

The open unemployment rate in several provinces, including Jakarta, Banten, and West Java also declined quickly during the period, he informed.

The highest open unemployment rate of 10.12 percent was recorded in Riau Islands and the lowest rate of 3.29 percent was recorded in West Sulawesi, he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's economy continued to shrink at 0.74 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, according to the Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

"Economic growth in the first quarter of 2021 contracted by 0.74 percent," Suhariyanto stated.

He  attributed the improvement in growth to an upward trend since the GDP contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

"In comparison with the previous quarter, this shows a significant improvement. The contraction of 0.74 percent shows signs of increasingly concrete economic recovery," he remarked. (Antaranews)