VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The government cuts collective leave to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 - EDITORIAL

The Indonesian government through a Joint Decree of the Three Ministers has officially reduced the days of collective leave in 2020 from the previously agreed 11 days to 8 days.  The elimination of 3 days of the joint leave is aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 from becoming more widespread because people will take advantage of holidays to return to their hometowns or visit tourism attractions.

It seems that the government has learned from the previous decision, when it imposed a long leave of absence at the end of October, and does not want to repeat that mistake. The recent spike in positive cases of Covid-19 is closely related to the long vacation at that time. Collective leave is not certainly the only factor, but it can be assumed it is the biggest factor. Why? Because, the addition of positive cases occurred exactly two weeks after the holiday period. So, it is appropriate if the government cuts off collective leave at the end of the year, not only reducing the collective leave, but banning people to go home, such as the one imposed by the government during the Idul Fitri holidays some time ago.

However, will cutting joint leave at the end of this year be effective in suppressing the spread of Covid-19? Probably not! Public awareness and discipline in implementing the Health Protocols is very important. The spread will be suppressed with high discipline from the community in implementing health protocols and the consistency of the government in implementing the 3T policy (tracing, testing, and treatment) and the enforcement of health protocol regulations is very important.

The government and public  should be able to build synergies to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which has recorded a daily positive number of nearly 8,400 people more recently. Without discipline and cooperation, the cutting off of collective leave days at the end of this year will be in vain.

After the sadistic beheading of teachers in France and the series of follow-up actions occurred last October, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to anticipate a recurrence of this incident so that it would not happen again. The French state service will monitor and control 16 mosques in Paris and other 60 outside the capital. Quoting the newspaper Le Figaro, some are being targeted for immediate action by the government, some of which are likely to be shut down. The move is included in a new draft law to prevent so-called Islamic separatism and reduce foreign influence on French Muslims. It is also possible to issue some kinds of certification for Imams who are deemed to have met the requirements. The French Home Minister, Darmanin has sent a circular to every governor in the area where the mosques are located. There are 43 mosques that have closed in the last three years since Emmanuel Macron's government came to power. Macron's concerns are the possibility of fanaticism and the proliferation of extremism in French mosques run by mosque imams. Will this be effective in overcoming this possibility? Is this step acceptable to the Muslim in France and doe not bring about negative responses from Muslim countries? Still, this needs to be proven.

The closure of the mosque and the certification of the Imam of the mosque are actually a series of steps that have been taken previously. At the end of September, President Emmanuel Macron invited the Grand Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz and the officials of the French Mosque Council to agree on steps to be taken, namely a special law to deal with Islamists (radicals) who seek to disobey the Government. To deal with this, it’s necessary to increase the number of moderate priests. One of them is through a vocational program equivalent to Diploma 3. The costs will be borne by the government. However, for a diploma, the graduates must be recognized as equivalent to a university diploma by the state. More technical discussions are continued in the next day's meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs, Gerald Darmanin, the Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister of Immigration. Another step that the French president  is preparing to tackle what he calls "Islamic separatism" in France, is to introduce new, broader laws. This law covers restrictions on house schools and the provision of harsher penalties for those who intimidate public officials using the pretext of religion. In addition to providing identification numbers to children to ensure they are in school, parents who violate the rules can be punished with a maximum prison sentence of six months and also a fine. In addition, there is a prohibition against providing personal information that allows someone to be tracked by those who want to threaten their safety. The bill will be discussed by the French cabinet on December 9.

Of course, the steps taken by the French government to overcome this extreme action have ignited a response from the Muslim community in France. However, as noted by Chems-Eddine Hafiz, vice president of the CFCM and leader of the great Parisian mosque, the current state of Islam in France is at a turning point and Muslims face responsibility for it. French imams have a duty to ensure Islam is not behind the extreme actions that have occured. The plan is that the CFCM will establish a registration for priests in France; each of whom will sign a Charter, before gaining accreditation.

Of course, each country has its own way of dealing with the possibility of extremist actions that threaten the safety and peace of its territory. However, the French government needs to be careful so as not to trgigger negative responses from existing Muslim countries.

Indonesia Needs to be Extra Careful of Cyber Crime - Editorial                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The Conversation

The impact of cyber crime can reach anyone in this world, who is connected with the internet. The World Economic Forum recorded that cyber crime has become a global threat since 2012, and the trend is increasing. Cyber crime targets many sectors starting from the government, industry, to individuals. The crime also varies such as private data leak, hacking, and scam. According to data from Indonesian National Police, there were 4,250 cyber crime cases from January until November 2020. In many cases, the perpetrator uses people's enthusiasm in fulfilling needs for information on Covid-19 development and handling as a way to slip in to a technology infrastructure to steal sensitive data.

The change in Indonesian people's lifestyle amid the Covid-19 pandemic which tends to depend more on the internet also affected the increasing cyber crime cases. Therefore, Indonesia needs to be extra careful of cyber crime. Moreover, the Interpol in "ASEAN Cyber Threat Assessment 2020" stated that Indonesia is the most target of phishing in ASEAN in 2019. Indonesia's status as the world's 7th biggest market with infrastructure and technology advancement in increasing the economy puts Indonesia in the crosshair of cyber criminals.

Increasing internet user penetration in Indonesia makes the country prone to cyber attack; especially when this increase does not come with skill and knowledge of the new users to protect themselves from cyber attack. The Work from Home is also a factor. People are working with networks outside their office without security guarantee. This makes them vulnerable to data theft both for individual working data or company's confidentials. 

Therefore, both national and private law enforcers and cyber security teams should proactively fight against cyber crime. The cyber security team needs to identify the cyber crime potential prior to an attack. On an individual level, every internet user should check twice the email or domain address.

Iran-Israel relations are at their lowest. The death of Iran's leading nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is the cause of the mounting tensions. Iran has even threatened to attack the Israeli city of Haifa, which is a very strategic port city.

For Iran, the death of Fakhrizadeh was a heavy blow and a loss of a very important figure. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh for Iran is a very valuable asset. Iran calls him the Father of the Iranian Nuclear Bomb. In the early 2000s Fakhrizadeh founded the Islamic Republic of Iran's military program. As a mainstay of his country, the late Fakhrizadeh was very much protected by the Iranian government. However last Friday he was killed in a remote controlled machine gun attack. The death of the nuclear figure was a blow to Iran's defenses. Hossein Salami, head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, has accused Israel of orchestrating and directing the assassination.

An Iranian mass media, Kayhan, responded to the murder of Iran's nuclear father with provocative suggestions. Kayhan on Sunday advised the Iranian  government to attack the Israeli  Port city of Haifa and destroy facilities there.

Prior to the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran-Israel relations were already bad. Israel, a major US ally, has long been hostile to Iran since the overthrow of the Shah of Iran as a result of the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini. The position of the United States in the recent tension that has been mounting is clear. Washington did not question the killing of the Iranian nuclear scientist, and even emphasized its support for Israel which was expressed through the US State Department. Washington supports Israel in self-defense in light of Iranian threats to attack Haifa.

Whether the Iranian-Israeli tension will turn into war because Tehran will attack Haifa, is not clear. The transition period of government in Washington as a result of the newly held elections may have an impact on this tense situation, including what steps Iran and Israel will take.