VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has appealed to Islamic economic and financial actors to hone their digital literacy skills to survive amid the changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Adaptation is the key to survival for us all," he remarked at the virtual opening of the 2020 Sharia Economic Festival and Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) in Jakarta, Friday.

Amin affirmed that digitalization was conducted in the wake of the changes in the current life order, including shopping for basic necessities online or through social media with the use of the internet.

The vice president, concurrently the daily chairperson of the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS), encouraged sharia economic actors to follow fundamental changes pertaining to the development of digital technology since it is unquestionably necessary in this time and age.

Amin noted that in terms of products, health and hygiene aspects were of absolute importance and offered enormous opportunities for the halal product industry.

The vice president stressed on the need for halal products to be high quality, tasty, healthy, nutritious, and hygienic.

Furthermore, products pertaining to public health and comfort during and after the pandemic also offer new-fangled opportunities.

"Thus, halal products will be the choice of consumers during and after the pandemic," he pointed out.

Not only for sharia economic players, but this year's ISEF was also held virtually to adjust to the current conditions to thwart the transmission of COVID-19.

"This is the first time that digital communication technology is being used. For me, this is a real form of adaptation," he stated.

Integrated management support will help bring about a leap in Indonesia's tourism sector, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"Thus, the country will take a leap in the tourism sector as well as in the management of the tourism ecosystem and its supporters," President Jokowi stated at a limited meeting at the Merdeka Palace, in Jakarta on Thursday.

The head of state highlighted the significance of support from the world of aviation that had to be streamlined through more integrated management.

Jokowi called for greater consolidation of flights, from upstream to downstream.

"This has never been done, starting from airline to airport and flight service management," the president noted.

The president is looking for it to be connected to destination management as well as with hotel and travel management.

"This should also extend to the management of local products and creative industries that we have," he stated.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Indonesia's economy contracted by 5.32 percent in the second quarter.

"I saw that the tourism and aviation sectors were impacted and had deeply contracted," the president stated.

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy had earlier readied strategies to cope with a projected decline in foreign tourist arrivals on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement released here on Tuesday, spokesperson for the ministry's Task Force for COVID-19 Handling, Ari Juliano Gema, remarked that the ministry had estimated a significant fall in foreign tourist visits to Indonesia owing to the pandemic.

"We have prepared strategies as a precautionary measure to handle the decline in foreign tourist visits by applying new normal protocols in the sector," he noted.

The protocols will be applied in regions ready to receive tourists.

"President Joko Widodo has instructed us not to act hastily. During the recovery period, we will first focus on efforts to mobilize domestic tourists," Gema revealed.

The spokesperson pointed out that implementation of the protocols will depend on regional preparedness. The ministry is working on coordinating with regions that are ready to apply the protocols. (ANTARA)

Vice President, Ma'ruf Amin drew attention to the importance of public compliance to health protocols to suppress the transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"The dire need of the hour is the public’s obedience to comply with health protocols in accordance with government regulations, the Indonesian Ulema Council's edict, and the directions of the clerics," he noted while delivering a keynote address during a web seminar on "The Role of MUI edict in the Covid Pandemic Period -19 and the legal impact" on Wednesday.

Disciplined implementation of health protocols is part of the efforts that all parties should prioritize during the pandemic until the COVID-19 vaccine is discovered, he emphasized.

Amin pointed to the important role of clerics to invite and remind the public to comply with health protocols while conducting day-to-day activities.

"I hope that we all continue to maintain health protocols by using masks, washing our hands, and maintaining a safe distance," he noted.

The vice president called on all parties, including the Family Welfare Empowerment (PKK) group, to become involved in the dissemination of information and health protocol campaign in the community to reach all families.

"I am inviting all elements, including the mothers of the Family Welfare Empowerment (PKK) group, to more actively campaign for the New Habit Adaptation (AKB), right from the smallest level, which is the family," he affirmed.

President Joko Widodo is promoting the national program of health discipline movement for increasing the public’s adherence to wearing masks, washing hands with soap under running water, and maintaining a safe required distance between one another.

The national movement was conducted since several people were yet ignoring the health protocols and the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had continued to increase.

To campaign for the health protocol disciplinary movement, Jokowi appealed to all elements of the community, ranging from the military, police, social organizations, volunteers, religious leaders, and community leaders to academics to take the initiative. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has reminded that the simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada), scheduled on December 9, 2020, must be held safely to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

"As the elections will be held in the midst of the pandemic, we hope it will remain democratic, 'luber' (direct, public, free, confidential), 'jurdil' (fair and just), and most importantly safe from COVID-19," President Jokowi remarked at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday while chairing a limited cabinet meeting on "Preparations for Simultaneous Regional Head Elections."

The elections must be held safely and in a better manner to safeguard against the spread of COVID-19, and to this end, the health and safety of election officers and voters must be prioritized, he remarked.

"The two main areas of focus are notably, better quality 2020 elections and also be safe from COVID-19. Hence, the health and safety of officers, participants, and of course, voters must be a priority," the president remarked.

The head of state instructed to habituate oneself to applying health protocols at every stage of the elections.

"This is to ensure that it will not create new clusters or new waves of COVID-19, which could be counterproductive," he emphasized.

Reflecting on other countries -- Singapore, Germany, France, and South Korea -- that had also held local and national elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Jokowi stated that the most important aspect was to convince voters that public health and safety remained the top priority and concern of the KPU and the government.

"Thus, the implementation of strict health protocols will proffer a sense of security that we expect will boost the level of voter participation," the president remarked.

Jokowi is also optimistic that the organizers and participants of the elections would make innovations at various stages of the elections to adapt to the pandemic.

The 2020 simultaneous local elections will be organized in 270 regions in 32 provinces, except Aceh and Jakarta, to elect governors in nine provinces, district heads in 224 districts, and mayors in 37 cities.

Based on the June 9 data, the number of eligible voters in the 2020 local elections reaches 106,774,112.

The pilkada campaign will be conducted for 71 days, from September 26 until December 5, 2020. (ANTARA)