VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 26 - The Papua provincial administration has begun distributing relief aid packages to prevent several hundred residents of Intan Jaya district, who have fled their homes amid safety concerns, from falling into hunger, an official said.

"Considering the refugees' condition, and responding to the instructions of Papua Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal, we have begun distributing the aid packages since Wednesday," head of Papua's Social Affairs Office, Ribka Haluk, said.

The Papua Social Affairs Office has provided 120 tonnes of rice, 13 thousand instant noodle packs, one ton of sugar, and one thousand cans of sardines, she said in a statement received by ANTARA in Jayapura on Thursday.

According to Haluk, the Papua Social Affairs Office has also provided 30 velbeds, 50 family kits, 50 foodware packages, 80 wool blankets, 100 mattresses, and 126 kitchen sets to refugees.

"We have also provided them with 357 packages containing cleaning supplies for kids, 320 packages containing cleaning supplies for elders, and 320 packages for those with special needs," she informed.

The Papua Social Affairs Office has also sent two teams to observe the current conditions of those taking refuge in the district of Nabire and Timika city, the capital of Mimika district, she added.

Haluk said her office is coordinating with the Indonesian Social Affairs Ministry in Jakarta to handle those fleeing their homes in the wake of violence unleashed by armed Papuan groups against army and police personnel as well as civilians.

"A solid coordination with the Intan Jaya district administration has been made. We have also coordinated the handling of this social work with the Indonesian Social Affairs Ministry in Jakarta. Its response has been so quick," she stated.

The Papua provincial administration is making efforts to restore normalcy in Intan Jaya, which has witnessed a spate in violence against civilians and security personnel in the past two years.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September, 2020, with notorious armed groups launching a series of attacks in the area that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured.

The government has launched emergency response measures to address the impact of the most recent instances of armed conflict, which have forced around 600 locals to flee their homes.

During a meeting in provincial capital Jayapura on Tuesday, Papua Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal said the handling of locals taking refuge for safety reasons will be the government's priority, he said.

Meanwhile, at the meeting, deputy head of Intan Jaya district, Yan Kobogoyau, said conditions in the district have been improving and many refugees have gradually returned home.

The Papua provincial government is expected to take strategic measures to restore normalcy in Intan Jaya, he added.  (Antaranews)

Feb. 26 - President Joko Widodo laid emphasis that the contributions by business actors and the private sector will aid in the creation of long-term expansion of employment.

Widodo made the statement in his directives at the 2021 Macro Economy Outlook event organized by a national media platform accessed from Jakarta on Thursday.

"Through labor-intensive programs, government spending, and other measures, job creation can be achieved in a short period of term. However, the creation and expansion of employment will rely on contributions from business actors from the private sector," the president noted.

The head of state remarked that business and private actors can play in role in expanding employment opportunities by reviving existing businesses and starting new businesses, either with their own funds, funding from banks, non-banks, or by inviting foreign investors.

The head of state reminded that in order to boost the private economy, bank credit should be distributed prudently whilst maintaining healthy levels of bank operations.

"I am pleased to receive a report on the minimum capital adequacy ratio of 23.78 percent, and the bank has prepared adequate reserves if there is an increase in risky credit," he expounded.  (Antaranews)

Feb. 25 - Indonesia will receive at least two million doses of a coronavirus vaccine produced by China’s Sinopharm for use in a private vaccination scheme due to run alongside a national inoculation programme, a minister said on Thursday.

Indonesia, which has faced one of the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, aims to vaccinate 181.5 million people within about a year using vaccines made by companies such as Sinovac Biotech, Novavax and AstraZeneca.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s minister for maritime affairs and investment, said the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) vaccine would be part of the private scheme.

“What’s fixed is two million (doses). Three million is our hope...we will vaccinate employees in stages,” he told an economic forum.

The private plan has been pushed by Indonesian business as a way for companies to buy vaccines from the government so that their employees can be vaccinated in order to help prop up the country’s battered economy.

The private plan is due to use alternative vaccines from the ones currently being used and the government is preparing a regulation.

Bambang Heriyanto, corporate secretary of Bio Farma, a state-owned pharmaceutical company in charge of procuring vaccines, said talks were still ongoing with Sinopharm and the vaccine needed approval from the food and drugs agency (BPOM).

BPOM did not respond to a request for comment.

At the same forum, State-owned enterprises minister Erick Thohir said more than 6,600 companies had signed up for the private scheme, which some health experts have criticised because of concern it could worsen vaccine inequity.

Sinopharm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sinopharm affiliate, the Wuhan Institute Of Biological Products, said on Wednesday its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 72.51% against COVID-19, citing interim analysis of late-stage clinical trial data, without offering more details. (Reuters)

Feb. 25 - National Development Planning Minister/ National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Head Suharso Monoarfa called for Indonesia to work closely through international cooperation, public-private partnerships, and cross-sectoral integration for a brighter future.

"We must ensure that low-carbon, green growth development strategies are mainstreamed in our economic recovery stimulus package," Monoarfa noted in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.

The statement was made at a pre P4G Summit 2021 webinar in Jakarta on Tuesday (Feb 23).

The webinar titled “Accelerating P4G Partnerships and Indonesian Leadership on Green Growth and Global Goals 2030” was jointly organized by Indonesia’s leading think tank -- the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) -- and the Korean Embassy in Jakarta in cooperation with the Bappenas, Embassy of Denmark, and P4G Global Hub.

The webinar featuring three ministers from Indonesia, Denmark, and South Korea; diplomats; scholars; government officials; businesspersons; and non-governmental organizations drew 530 participants from across the globe.

The international webinar was a pre-event of the Second P4G Summit 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. The summit will be held on May 30-31, 2021. The First P4G Summit was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2018.

"Through the engagement and cooperation of the private sector, government, and civil society organizations, we hope P4G would become the world’s leading forum for developing concrete and innovative public-private partnerships at scale to achieve green, climate-resilient, and inclusive economic growth,” the minister stated.

“At this pandemic-induced crossroads, I expect Indonesia to show its strong leadership in building back better, greener, and more inclusive through the P4G by engaging all stakeholders,” Environment Minister of the Republic of Korea H.E Jeoung-Ae Han emphasized.

Korea looks forward to the role of P4G that brings together various countries, businesses, and civil societies from several continents.

The very essence of P4G is to foster partnerships that will have tangible impacts on the market and can be broadly applied in different parts of the world in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and under the efforts to achieve the SDGs.

"The webinar aims to: (1) Strengthen the momentum for the National Platform launch in Indonesia in February 2020 (2) Promote the 2021 P4G Summit and opportunities to showcase and accelerate P4G partnerships and Indonesian leadership on green growth (3)Showcase the P4G impact model and accelerate key P4G partnerships," Executive Director of CSEAS, Indonesia, Arisman stated.

Arisman is optimistic that this event would aid in identifying opportunities and obstacles faced and suggesting innovative solutions in terms of accelerating P4G partnerships and Indonesian leadership on green growth and achieving SDGs, especially Goal 2 - Zero Hunger, Goal 6 - Clean Water & Sanitation, Goal 7 - Affordable & Clean Energy, Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities & Communities, and Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production. (Antaranews)