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.
The 2022 Asian Youth Chess Championships (AYCC) international chess championship event was opened by the Governor of Bali I Wayan Koster, Friday (14/10/2022). This championship took place at the Grand Inna Hotel, Kuta, Bali.
The tournament was attended by more than 400 participants involving around 300 participants. This championship is also the biggest chess tournament held by PB Percasi after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides the Governor of Bali, the event was attended by the Commander of the Udayana Regional Military Command, Maj. Gen. Sonny Aprianto, and the General Chairman of PB Percasi, GM Utut Adianto. The opening was also attended by Expert Staff of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Dwijayanto, Head of Foreign Affairs of the Central KONI Hana Simanjuntak, and Technical Delegate of Asian Youth Casto Abundo. The Chairperson of the AYCC 2022 Committee Dwi Hatmisari Ambarukmi also participated in the opening.
General Chairman of PB Percasi GM Utut Adianto said the tournament which was participated by youth chess players was an important tournament. According to him, this is a regeneration process for chess athletes that must be continued.
"We hope that new Grandmasters will be born from the children who are competing today," he said.
The governor of Bali said he was happy with so many participants from abroad. This proves that Bali remains a major world tourist destination.
"This tournament has a very positive impact on the recovery of tourism and the Balinese economy," he said.
The 2022 AYCC Championship is attended by chess players from 20 countries, with an age range of 7 to 18 years. Many of these young participants brought their families with them to accompany them.
The Asian Youth Chess Championships will be held for 7 days (14 -21 October 2022). This competition will feature Standard Chess, Quick Chess, and Quick Chess. (RRI)
President Joko Widodo's program promoting the planting of one million early mature coconuts across Indonesia has yielded good results, with 100 percent growth, and has even grown new shoots.
In a statement received on Saturday, director general of plantations at the Agriculture Ministry, Andi Nur Alam Syah, said that the planting of early maturing coconuts in Solo Raya, Central Java, was part of the food security program as well as efforts to increase people's income.
"Solo Raya must be successful, maintenance and other needs must be met, not to be lacking," he added.
Under the program, the ministry is aiming to plant 1 million early coconuts in the 2022–2023 period by allocating assistance for seeds for growing 110 thousand early maturing coconut trees to Sukoharjo Regency, 58 thousand trees to Boyolali, and 59 thousand trees to Karanganyar.
The seed assistance was provided during the declaration of the “One Million Stem Early Coconut Planting” by President Widodo in mid-August 2022.
To ensure the program runs well, the ministry is conducting monitoring and evaluation in order to build an early-maturing coconut area that can improve people's income and the national economy.
Syah said that Solo Raya, especially Sukoharjo, has been selected as a model for other regions.
Good plant growth cannot be separated from people's enthusiastic response when planting and maintaining, he remarked. In Solo Raya, especially in Sukoharjo, coconut is processed into palm sugar and coconut oil.
He said that the allocation of the remaining 100 thousand coconut seeds for this year will be focused in Sukoharjo.
"Because a lot of land is still available and the public's response to planting with serious maintenance is very high. The Sukoharjo government also has a serious commitment to follow up on it," he added.
Some of the early varieties of coconut that have been chosen for the program include entog, yellow nias, yellow bali, pandanus fragrant, and kopyor. Genjah coconuts can be harvested within three to four years from the time of planting.
Each variety has its advantages, for instance, the entog variety has the potential for bearing 95 fruits per tree per year, with the number of fruits per bunch ranging from 6 to 7. Meanwhile, the sweetness of the fruit juice is 6 percent Brix, the weight of the fruit flesh is 437 grams, and the fruit can be harvested in the fourth year.
The yellow nias variety produces 60–120 fruits per tree per year, the weight of the fruit flesh reaches 159 grams, and the oil content is 62 percent. Nias yellow early coconut can be harvested once it reaches the age of 4 years.
As for the yellow bali variety, it has potential productivity of 60–110 grains per tree per year. The weight of the fruit flesh is 177 grams and the oil content is about 61 percent. This variety of coconut can be harvested from the fourth year.
Meanwhile, the juice of the Genjah pandanus coconut variety has a sweetness of 6.25 percent Brix.
The fruit water is aromatic and tasty and the young fruit flesh has a pandan-like fragrance and taste. It has a productivity of 151 grains per tree per year and can be harvested from the fourth year. (Antaranews)
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has urged residents to remain alert against the impact of extreme weather and hydrometeorological phenomena.
"We hope that the public and regional government will be vigilant and take mitigation measures," the governor said in Surabaya on Friday.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, Juanda Sidoarjo, has predicted the risk of extreme weather in some places in East Java on account of the La Nina phenomenon.
Some disasters caused by extreme weather that people need to keep an eye out for include tornadoes, strong winds, floods, and landslides, the agency said.
It further informed that areas on the southern coast of East Java are at risk of experiencing hydrometeorological disasters, such as Trenggalek, Tulungagung, Ponorogo, Pacitan, Malang, and Batu.
Such disasters may also occur in the Tapal Kuda area, including Banyuwangi, Jember, Situbondo, Bondowoso, Pasuruan, and Probolinggo.
The governor said that her administration has coordinated with some stakeholders to implement mitigation measures to anticipate the impacts of a potential disaster.
"Coordination is being pursued to minimize the risk of damage or loss that can result in fatalities," she added.
The governor assured that the East Java Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency has mapped flood- and landslide-prone points.
"We urge for drainage to be prepared for the disposal of rainwater so that it flows to the river smoothly," Parawansa added.
She said that coordination between the central and Juanda Sidoarjo branches of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency regarding updates on extreme weather conditions would continue.
Mitigation measures are necessary, particularly in large rivers, which face the risk of overflowing and causing flooding, Governor Parawansa added.
The seven watersheds in question include the Bengawan Solo River, Welang Rejoso River, Brantas River, Madura River, Pekalen Sampean River, Bondoyudo Bedadung, River and Baru Bajulmati River.
"In those seven watersheds, an early warning system has been installed. Everyone, please take care of this early warning system equipment for our common good," she said. (antaranews)
The Industry Ministry has expressed support for organizations that can help improve the national and global halal economy, including the Indonesian Muslimah Merchant Association (Persami).
"The government cannot run alone without the support of Muslim women here. We hope that Persami, which was originally a foundation, can grow, not only locally, but also globally. This organization is expected to be a beacon and a driving force, especially for the wheels of the economy in local and global markets," secretary general of the ministry, Dody Widodo, said in a statement issued here on Friday.
The ministry is working to ensure that national halal products can compete in the global market, he added.
"Of course, in accordance with the road map that has been prepared by the National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance (KNEKS). Through this road map, Indonesia is expected to become the center of the world's halal products by 2024," he informed.
He said that to realize the target, support and collaboration between the government and non-governmental organizations, such as Persami, is necessary, especially to realize sharia economic principles and strengthen the halal value chain to advance the national economy.
He further said he is optimistic that Indonesian halal products can compete with foreign products. In the manufacturing sector, there are several industry groups that have the potential to become very large halal businesses.
These industry groups have grown at an extraordinary pace, for example, the food and beverage industry, which is supporting the Indonesian economy, grew 3.68 percent (compared to the previous year) in the second quarter of 2022 and contributed 38.38 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the non-oil and gas processing industry.
According to Widodo, Persami members are expected to encourage the growth of small and medium industries (SMIs) in the country as 47.32 percent or 2.08 million of the total 4.4 million SMIs are run by women.
SMIs are an inseparable part of the industry as a whole and are closely related to the participation of women, who can encourage industrial development in the region by utilizing local resources and the potential of women's groups in the area, he said.
"This means that this is very important, especially for Indonesia, where women are the driving force for SMIs owned by Muslim merchants as well as being the main drivers and motors of industrial economic development in Indonesia," the secretary general added.
He further said that in 2022, the ministry will again hold the Indonesia Halal Industry Awards (IHYA). The activity aims to show appreciation for stakeholders who have played an active role and innovated continuously in the development and empowerment of the national halal industry.
"We hope that Persami members can include their products in IHYA in 2022," he added.
Meanwhile, chairperson of the honorary council of Persami’s central executive board (DPP), Wury Estu Handayani Ma'ruf Amin, said that to capture market opportunities for halal products, efforts need to be made to continue to encourage Muslim entrepreneurs.
"This is to maintain and improve the quality of halal products and be able to adapt to the situation and be able to capture what consumers need," she added.
The wife of Vice President Ma'ruf Amin expressed the hope that Persami can continue to encourage Muslim women's businesses in Indonesia while increasing the capacity and capability of Muslim women and women merchants through educational programs and practical training, especially for MSMEs that produce halal products. (Antaranews)
House of Representatives (DPR RI) Deputy Speaker Rachmat Gobel stated that Indonesia and Uzbekistan have agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in various areas.
"Five aspects (where cooperation will be intensified) are trade, industry, cultural, education, and tourism," Gobel noted in a statement here, Friday.
The parliament's deputy speaker for industry and development affairs earlier met Uzbek's Bukhara Governor Botir K. Zaripov, Uzbek Ambassador to Indonesia Ulugbek Rozukulov, and several Uzbek entrepreneurs.
He then highlighted his 2020 visit to Uzbekistan, upon invitation from the local authority, during which the two countries concurred on bolstering bilateral cooperation, including a reciprocity agreement on agricultural products' traffic between both countries.
While highlighting Bukhara as the cradle of a major Muslim hadith scholar, Imam al-Bukhari, the deputy speaker affirmed that he would visit Uzbekistan soon with Indonesian ulemas to pay a visit to the grave of Imam al-Bukhari.
"I believe people-to-people and heart-to-heart relationships are essential. Hence, I will invite several Indonesian ulemas to pay a visit to the resting place of Imam al-Bukhari," Gobel stated.
Meanwhile, Governor Zaripov said his visit to Indonesia was undertaken based on President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's instruction. According to Zaripov, the Uzbek president had instructed provincial governors to visit Indonesia.
Zaripov affirmed that Indonesia is important for Uzbekistan while adding that Indonesia's first president Soekarno is also a renowned figure in the country, especially for his role in the past revitalization of Imam al-Bukhari's resting place.
During the meeting, the governor offered cooperation in the trade of cotton, coffee and tea, fruits, electronic appliances, solar power equipment, and oil and gas with Indonesia.
Moreover, he revealed that the Uzbek authority had readied 200 hectares of land for the development of tourism attractions while adding that Indonesian entrepreneurs were invited to invest in Uzbek tourism. (Antaranews)
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology will target 17 Indonesian provinces under the local language revitalization program in 2023, according to an official from the ministry.
"Next year, we will add the province; there will be those in Sumatra (island) such as Lampung, Bengkulu, then Aceh will also be included so that the provinces increase to 17 provinces. Then, if I'm not mistaken, the language is 50 or 52 languages," Head of the ministry's Language Development Agency E. Aminudin Aziz informed during an online discussion on Thursday.
According to him, the community has been highly enthusiastic about the local language revitalization. Initially, the ministry tested the program in three provinces that have the most speakers of local languages, namely West Java, Central Java, and South Sulawesi.
However, other provinces also wanted their local languages to be revitalized, he added.
For that reason, this year, the ministry is covering 39 local languages andunder the program, including North Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, and West Sulawesi.
"The community was also very excited to revitalize their local languages. Therefore, we looked for a budget and human resources," he said.
He further explained that the ministry has bolstered collaboration with language and literature activist communities, local language teacher communities, and even religious leaders. Thus, the revitalization program is not only being carried out in schools but also at village centers, local cultural centers, and places of worship.
He said that the participation of the community has left the ministry impressed.
"Thankfully, the ministry is positive about this program; regional governments are also very positive," he remarked.
Aziz expressed the hope that there will be more regional governments that have a positive attitude toward the preservation of local languages so that the revitalization of local languages can be carried out in more provinces. (Antaranews)
The implementation of the green economy can help overcome the social and demographic challenges in Indonesia, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has said.
"The green economy will encourage the development of green industries, which implement the principles of efficiency in their production process as well as effectiveness in the use of inclusive, sustainable natural resources," a researcher at BRIN’s Research Center for Population, Sari Seftriani, underlined here on Thursday.
While implementing the green economy, it is important to produce environmentally friendly products as well as apply eco-designs, eco-friendly technologies, low-emission recycling processes, energy conservation, and clean production, she said.
"In addition, (green economy includes) economic practices supported by local wisdom," she added.
Hence, the involvement of the community is important in implementing the green economy paradigm as it can increase the welfare of the community and help preserve the environment, the researcher said.
According to the results of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and BRIN’s collaborative research, the development of the green economy in Indonesia has not involved the nation’s demographic assets optimally. In addition, it is still project-driven, not well organized, and conducted on a small scale, she informed.
The current implementation of the green economy in Indonesia mostly emphasizes the shift toward high and sophisticated technology as well as the improvement of human resources’ capacity to adapt to advanced technology, she noted.
According to Seftriani, the green economy development in Indonesia needs to bolster three important aspects.
The first one is intergenerational wisdom. The green economy transition in Indonesia requires intergenerational dialogue to fill the knowledge gap and carry out knowledge brokering between the younger and older generation to support the acceleration and sustainability of the green economy.
The second aspect is the involvement of social institutions that will support and optimize green economic development in Indonesia, for which there is currently limited capital.
The third is introducing the right technology to avoid additional burden while implementing the green economy transition.
For instance, the application of pyrolysis technology in the waste management sector to process plastic waste into diesel fuel has not been running optimally because the cost of buying fuel for the processing machine is more expensive than the selling price of the diesel fuel produced. (Antaranews)
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), while addressing a plenary cabinet session at the State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, asked his rank and file to anticipate natural disasters caused by extreme weather in the country.
“The anticipation of potential natural disasters due to extreme weather must also be calculated. Heat waves in Europe, flash floods in Pakistan, hurricanes in Florida, long droughts in Africa, in Kenya, I think all of that should be our evaluation material," he said, according to a video posted on the Presidential Secretariat's Youtube account and accessed from Jakarta on Wednesday.
Indonesia should be prepared to mitigate disasters caused by extreme weather, he stressed.
He said that he had directed the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) to prepare pump points in anticipation of a dry heat wave.
"What I am afraid of is that we have had almost three years of wet season. Long wet season. What I fear is that there will also be a long dry season," he explained.
If water reservoirs are expanded and pumps in villages are prepared quickly, drought is expected to be anticipated.
“Once again, preparation for disaster mitigation. I think that is what I want to say," he said.
At least 150,322 people have been affected by floods in several parts of Indonesia in the period from October 3 to 9, 2022, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) earlier reported.
"A total of 150,322 people have been affected by the floods. Currently, there are still refugees at 80 points," the agency's acting head of disaster data, information, and communication center, Abdul Muhari, noted during a disaster briefing in Jakarta on Monday.
He said that the October 3–9 period broke the record for the most disaster events compared to previous weeks, with 70 disasters reported that were dominated by wet hydrometeorological disasters.
The 70 disasters consisted of 69 wet hydrometeorological disasters and one dry hydrometeorological incident.
"Of these 70 incidents, some 36 involved flooding, 18 landslides, and 15 extreme weather events," Muhari informed.
The North Aceh district of Aceh province is still affected by floods and the water level has not subsided so far due to rainfall of fairly high intensity, he said.
The dominant rainfall distribution has been in the northern and southern parts of Sumatra Island, while rainfall has been evenly distributed on the south coast of Java, Muhari said.
Based on an analysis conducted on October 7, phenomena such as storms, which resulted in cloud accumulation and increased rainfall intensity, were observed along the south coast of Java.
"The rainfall is almost evenly distributed from the west end to the east end, starting from Pangandaran, Sukabumi, Garut, Trenggalek, Jember, Banyuwangi—all of them are affected," he informed. (Antaranews)
The Ministry of Health has emphasized that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a threat to global health because it can negatively affect the quality of health services.
"The health threat, which is called a silent pandemic or antimicrobial resistance, is the ability of microorganisms to survive against antimicrobials so that the effectiveness of treatment declines, infectious diseases become harder to cure," a representative of the director of pharmaceutical management and services at the ministry, Hidayati Masud, said at a media gathering with World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representatives here on Wednesday.
The quality of health services could decline and cause morbidity to increase and medical costs to rise, she noted.
AMR can increase the potential for the emergence of infectious diseases due to resistance. It is feared that surgery may no longer be carried out, and the number of deaths due to tetanus or childbirth may increase.
This is what makes AMR one of the top 10 global health threats that need to be watched out for.
Even though at first, antimicrobials were used as the primary treatment in the management of infectious diseases, currently, the discovery of microorganisms is declining.
"It is feared that there will be a condition like the era before antibiotics were discovered, where many infectious diseases emerged," she pointed out.
She emphasized that AMR can hinder the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SGDs), including burdening state finances in National Health Insurance (JKN).
"The number of deaths due to AMR that continues to grow must become our concern. The incidence of antimicrobial resistance is closely related to the widespread and inappropriate use of antimicrobials in the community," she underlined.
She also expressed concern over the lack of knowledge and information about the use of antimicrobials, especially antibiotics, which could cause AMR to spread across the world.
One of the Indonesian government's efforts to improve the handling of AMR has been the formulation of a national action plan to control antimicrobial resistance for 2020–2024, which has been outlined in the Decree of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Number 7 of 2021. (Antaranews)
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has expressed its commitment to helping the All Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) recover from the October 1, 2022, stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in East Java's Malang district.
"We offer constant assistance to PSSI and Indonesian football competition," AFC vice secretary general Shin Mon Gil said here on Wednesday.
PSSI is one of the most important AFC members, he noted and vowed to provide maximum assistance to efforts to improve Indonesian football, which has come under the spotlight following the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy.
To that end, AFC has assigned security and safety experts, Datuk Dell Akbar Khan and Brian Johnson, to cooperate with FIFA, PSSI, and the Indonesian government in evaluating football stadiums in the country.
Gil further extended AFC's condolences over the tragedy, which left 132 people dead and hundreds of others injured.
"AFC does not want the tragedy to recur in football competition. We want football competition in Indonesia to run well again so it can be enjoyed without security issue," he said.
AFC and FIFA have sent their officials to Indonesia to assist PSSI in evaluating the Kanjuruhan tragedy so that it does not recur in the future.
On Tuesday, FIFA development project coordinators Niko Nhouvannasak and Chen Jun along with FIFA security and safety consultant, Serge Dumotier, met with PSSI in connection with the Kanjuruhan tragedy.
Gil also met with PSSI to conduct coordination on Monday.
PSSI and PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) have suspended Indonesian Leagues 1, 2, and 3 to comply with the joint independent fact-finding team’s (TGIPF’s) recommendations, The team was formed by President Joko Widodo and chaired by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has expressed his readiness to help the Indonesian government, PSSI and AFC transform Indonesian football.
On October 1 night, thousands of Arema FC supporterswere left trapped in Kanjuruhan Stadium after some supporters stormed the pitch following the team’s 2-3 loss to Persebaya Surabaya. In response, police fired tear gas, triggering a stampede.
In a press statement issued on October 2, East Java Regional Police chief, Inspector General Nico Afinta, said that Arema FC supporters were disappointed by the match’s outcome and so they stormed the pitch to confront the players and officials.
According to Afinta, tear gas was fired because the angry supporters could have endangered the football players and officials.
"Because of the tear gas, they rushed to an exit point and triggered a stamped as they suffered shortness of breath, lack of oxygen," he said.
According to data from the Malang District Health Office, the Kanjuruhan crowd crush left 131 people dead, 440 people lightly injured, and 29 people seriously injured.
In response to the tragedy, President Joko Widodo formed a joint independent fact-finding team (TGIPF) comprising 13 members. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD was made the chairperson of the team and Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali its deputy head.
Meanwhile, the National Police have named six suspects in the incident, including three police personnel. The three other suspects are from the football match's organizing committee: PT Liga Indonesia Baru president director, chief of Arema FC's organizing committee, and a security guard at Kanjuruhan stadium. (Antaranews)