VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 5 -  President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said that Indonesia will not adhere to protectionism, nor will it be a victim of unfair global trade practices or allow predatory pricing practices to hurt domestic MSMEs.

"I emphasize that we are not a nation that likes protectionism, no, because history has proven that protectionism is actually detrimental," Widodo said while opening the XVII National Working Meeting of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) 2021 from the Bogor Presidential Palace on Friday.

Indonesia believes in economic openness and cooperation, the President added and asked entrepreneurs to tap the potential of the domestic market of up to 270 million people.

At the same time, unfair trade practices must be kept at bay, especially if they harm the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, he said.

He then asked ministers in the economic sector to fence off MSMEs so they do not fall victim to predatory pricing.

"Currently, there are many predatory pricing practices. Be careful with this. It can kill the small ones (businesses). I have repeatedly told the Minister, especially the Minister of Trade, that this should be fenced off,” he said.

The Head of State invited the public to endorse and be proud of domestic products while asking domestic business actors to work on improving themselves.

Domestic producers must create products with competitive prices, quality, good packaging, and in accordance with current market demands, he advised.

"To get to the loyalty of our consumers, there are conditions for domestic products, namely competitive prices, good quality. This is from the manufacturer's side. We must continue to improve the quality, the packaging, improve the design so that we can follow the trend," he remarked. (Antaranews)

Mar. 5 - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin spoke of the government’s plan to continue the pre-employment card program until at least 2022 to improve the quality of Human Resources (HR) amid global competition after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"God willing, in 2022, we can also budget for this program, as our workforce increases every year and post-epidemic job demands call for better human resources and more skills," Vice President Amin stated during an online economic dialog quoted in Jakarta, Friday.

The pre-employment card is a form of the government’s assistance to the community to enable them to transform with the inculcation of various changes in the world of work, he affirmed.

"This is because it is impossible or uncertain for them to conduct transformation on their own. The government is offering help by continuing to conduct training programs through this pre-employment card program," the vice president stated.

Amin explained that the government had incessantly worked to improve the work system for the pre-employment card program that was halted on the recommendation of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"In 2020, the pre-employment card is budgeted worth Rp20 trillion for 5.48 million people. In 2021, it was originally budgeted for only Rp10 trillion but was later increased to Rp20 trillion. That was indeed stopped on the recommendation of the KPK, but then improvements were made," he remarked.

The pre-employment card program is a training assistance scheme accompanied by providing incentives to the community.

The assistance and incentives are intended for citizens, aged at least 18 years, and are job seekers, new graduates, victims of termination of employment, and entrepreneurs.

Each participant will receive assistance worth Rp3,550,000, with Rp1,000,000 for training, the post-training monthly incentive of Rp600,000 for four months, and Rp150,000 as survey incentive.

Currently, the management involved in the implementation of the pre-employment card program will begin accepting participants for batch 13, with a quota of 600,000 people.

The process of accepting participants for batch 13 will start after the announcement of the results of selection for batch 12. (Antaranews)

Mar. 5 - At least a dozen people and possibly up to 23 have been killed in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province were Revolutionary Guards and security forces have used lethal force against fuel couriers from ethnic minorities and protesters, the United Nations said on Friday.

Iran is investigating an incident in which at least two Iranians were shot dead this week at the border with Pakistan, and Islamabad has handed over the body of one of the victims, the Iranian foreign ministry said a week ago.

The shooting of people carrying fuel across the border led to protests that spread from the city of Saravan to other areas in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, including the capital, Zahedan.

“The series of violent events and unrest began on 22 February, when Revolutionary Guards are alleged to have shot and killed at least 10 fuel couriers, known as sookhtbar, in Sistan and Baluchistan Province at the border with Pakistan, after a two-day stand-off triggered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps blocking the road to the city of Saravan,” U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

The killings had triggered demonstrations in several cities across the province, during which the revolutionary guard and security forces fired lethal ammunition at protesters and bystanders, he said.

Colville said that it has been difficult to verify the death toll due to disruptions of local mobile data networks, but some unconfirmed reports have estimated that as many as 23 people may have been killed.

“We call on the authorities to immediately restore Internet access in areas that remain disconnected,” he said.

Sistan-Baluchistan’s population is predominantly Sunni Muslim, while most Iranians are Shi’ite. Iran has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world and has been fighting smuggling to neighboring countries. (Reuters)

Mar. 5 - Malaysia has detected two cases of a new coronavirus variant that is thought to be more transmissible and resistant to antibodies, a senior health official said on Friday.

The variant, also known as B.1.525, was found in two people who had travelled from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement.

Analysis of the travellers’ COVID-19 tests indicated the presence of mutations including E484K and a similar suite of protein deletions seen in a variant of the virus first detected in Britain, Noor Hisham said.

“The E484K protein spike mutation is of high concern as this mutation has been reported to evade the immune system,” he said.

Health authorities in the United Kingdom and other countries have said the E484K mutation could potentially reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

The B.1.525 variant has also been detected in England, Nigeria, Denmark and Canada.

Malaysia on Friday eased movement restrictions in the capital Kuala Lumpur and several states, nine days after it began a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The Southeast Asian country has recorded more than 300,000 coronavirus cases so far, including 1,153 deaths. (Reuters)