VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Puan Maharani has voiced support for the issuance of a regional regulation on village customs, which covers local wisdom and the culture of gotong royong or community cooperation.

"I always appreciate the elements of society who continue to maintain Indonesia as a nation with culture, as what President Sukarno said in the Trisakti (concept). I support the issuance of the village customary regional regulation, which is being fought by LP2BN (Nusantara Cultural Protection and Conservation Institution),” she said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.

According to the statement, she held an audience with representatives of LP2BN and the Surabaya Family Hope Program (PKH) assistants on Wednesday.

During the meeting, 50 LP2BN representatives asked the Speaker for her support for the village's customary regional regulation proposal.

Maharani promised to use LP2BN's inputs as "ammunition" for the House in fighting for the country's culture.

"We will continue to support all parties such as LP2BN who want to preserve and advance the culture of Nusantara (archipelago)," she said.

Indonesia can become a huge nation because of its cultural wealth, hence, initiatives for advancing it must continue to be supported, she added.

Furthermore, she held a dialogue with 67 PKH assistants who have been tasked with helping beneficiary families with social assistance programs.

Maharani shared her experience of assisting residents involved in the PKH program while serving as the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.

At the time, she helped PKH beneficiaries to open accounts, take care of money at banks, and draw money from automated teller machines (ATMs).

“Now, everything is through the post office; it really takes extra patience to take care of PKH," she remarked.

The Speaker said that the House will help provide solutions by giving inputs to the government so that obstacles faced by PKH beneficiaries can be resolved.  (Antaranews)

The Russia-Ukraine war is one of the phenomena of grave global problems currently, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

"What is happening in Ukraine is just an example or phenomenon of the serious problem we are facing now," the minister noted during a press videoconferencing following a high-level dialog on the Indo-Pacific held in Prague, Czech Republic, on Monday.

The phenomena of the serious global problems include the disappearance of mutual trust, the emergence of win-lose paradigm, and the erosion of respect for international law, Marsudi noted in a written statement of the Foreign Ministry released on Tuesday.

"Later, I said that what is happening in Ukraine actually shed light on the weak architecture of the post-Cold War zone that applies a containment approach," she remarked.

"In addition, this war reminds us of the need to properly manage potentials for conflict in our region," she pointed out.

The minister noted that the Russia-Ukraine war, having protracted for around four months, has had far-reaching geopolitical and geoeconomic impacts on various countries, including Indo-Pacific nations.

While in Czech Republic, Marsudi also held bilateral talks with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. At the meeting, they also discussed the major impacts of the conflict in Ukraine on humanitarian and economic conditions, including food security.

"I stressed that the impact of the war on food security is seriously felt, particularly by developing countries," she remarked.

To that end, the minister sought an immediate solution, particularly to deal with the global food and energy crises by, among others, restoring the global supply chain for food and fertilizer products from Russia and Ukraine.

Marsudi stated that food security will become the center of attention during Indonesia's G20 Presidency.  (Antaranews)

The Indonesian Government's COVID-19 Task Force has encouraged relevant authorities to conduct an epidemiological molecular surveillance through applying an appropriate method in order to determine specific causes for the increase in the number of cases in the country.

"Until now, it cannot be concluded that there is an increase in positive cases and active cases in Indonesia, but several potentials have been identified," Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force Prof. Wiku Adisasmito stated here on Tuesday.

Situations identified as being causal to the spike in cases include increased population dynamics, neglect of health protocols, and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that had spread in Indonesia since June 6, 2022.

Adisasmito pressed to find the specific cause for the increase in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia at least in the next two to three weeks, so that the situation could be adeptly brought under control.

Moreover, epidemiological molecular surveillance by using a correct and systematic method was deemed necessary in order to pinpoint the cause behind the increase in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, he affirmed.

Recently, an increase in weekly cases of COVID-19 was reported, from 1,800 cases at the end of May 2022 to 3,600 cases last week. The number of active cases also surged, from 2,900 cases as of the end of May 2022 to 4,900 cases as of June 13, 2022.

However, the number of positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia, reaching 574 cases as of June 11, 2022, can be said to be lower than those reported in neighboring countries, with 1,709 cases in Malaysia, 2,474 cases in Thailand, 3,128 cases in Singapore, 8,582 cases in India, and 16,393 cases in Australia.

"Regardless of what causes the current increase in cases, what is important is mutual cooperation to once more suppress the rate of positive cases by all levels of society and the government from the national to regional levels," he stated.

The cheapest and easiest way was to adhere to health protocols in a disciplined manner again.

"(This is) because basically, rampant (dynamics) and the return to normal community activities will not result in an increase in cases if everyone involved is following health protocols responsibly, properly, and correctly. This includes the use of masks for everyone and diligent hand washing," he pointed out.

Caution must be exercised in daily activities, as the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing. "At any given point in time, we can still experience an increase in cases if we do not follow health protocols with discipline," he concluded.  (Antaranews)

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights has launched a pilot project for the development of intellectual property (IP) and tourism in Bali.

The statement was made by acting director general of intellectual property, Razilu, while presenting his report to Law and Human Rights Minister, Yasonna Laoly, in Ubud, Gianyar, on Tuesday.

Explaining why Bali was selected for the pilot project, he said, “There are two tourism clusters in Bali that are related to intellectual property, the first is ‘IP and gastro,’ as Balinese culinary is very unique and can be a potential for gastro tourism, (and) the second is ‘IP and ecotourism.’”

According to Razilu, Bali is considered to be a region with lots of cultural and traditional knowledge that can support tourism and the economy, both at the regional and national levels.

He further explained that tourism, as part of the creative economy, cannot be separated from intellectual property.

He gave examples of Bali’s creative products: the silver handicrafts of Celuk, Gianyar; traditional salt processing in Amed, Karangasem, and Kusamba, Klungkung; and the coffee plantations of Kintamani, Bangli.

All of them are part of communal intellectual property, he added.

All these examples of Balinese crafts need to be registered with the government so that the rights to their use can contribute to the development of local tourism and economy, he said.

Therefore, the Directorate General of Intellectual Property has relaunched the mobile IP Clinic registration service at Puri Lukisan Museum, Ubud, Gianyar, from June 14–16, 2022, he informed.

Razilu said he hopes that the relaunching will encourage cultural actors, local governments, and art workers to register a wide variety of knowledge and traditional crafts.

At the end of Tuesday’s relaunch event, Laoly handed over four communal intellectual property certificates for Sang Hyang Jaran Dance, Sang Hyang Dedari Dance, Endek Cloth, and Balinese Songket. (Antaranews)