VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 25 - Indonesia's economic growth can surpass the global 2021 forecast of four to five percent if it were to unify and channel its energy to exclusively handle the health crisis, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated.

"The condition is simple. The nation should unite its energy, focus on handling the health crisis, and boost economic growth," Jokowi remarked here on Thursday during a virtual forum of the CNBC Indonesia Economy Outlook 2021.

International institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have projected Indonesia to record economic growth in the range of four to five percent in 2021 after it shrank 2.07 percent in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jokowi believes that Indonesia's economic recovery would hinge largely on the disciplined application of health protocols, including wear face mask, maintaining physical distance, and washing hands, as well as the implementation of the 3T policy of testing, tracing, and treatment.

The two principles must be implemented optimally to thwart the spread of COVID-19. Concurrently, the government has conducted vaccination on an extensive scale to cover all people in a bid to build herd immunity.

The head of state affirmed that across Asia, Indonesia was among the leading countries to be conducting COVID-19 vaccination.

"We have to work hard to get the vaccine required by all countries in the world," he stated.

The government has outlined a target to cover public service workers in its second batch of vaccination after having offered the vaccine for health workers across the country in the first batch.

"I am optimistic that through the support of all parties for the vaccination, Indonesia would soon be free from COVID-19, and we would be able to demonstrate to the world that we are ahead in handling the crisis," Jokowi affirmed.

The government has allotted Rp372 trillion from the 2021 state budget to accelerate national economic recovery.

The budget will be utilized to fund various programs, including social assistance, Family Hope Program (PKH), wage subsidy, pre-employment card, labor-intensive program, productive aid for micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises, relaxation of bank loan restructurization, tax facility, and other services to drive economic recovery.

"The swiftness in handling the health crisis will run in parallel with the national economic recovery," Jokowi stated.  (Antaranews)

Feb. 25 - Several world bodies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have forecast Indonesia’s economy to grow 4.5 percent this year, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

While addressing the CNBC Indonesia Economy Outlook forum held online on Thursday, Jokowi emphasized that Indonesia should be in a position to realize the forecast.

To this end, all elements of the nation must unify and channel their attention to tackling the health crisis to ensure that the country can record quality growth, the president reiterated.

"We must prove that Indonesia will be able to be better than what they have expected. The key is simple that the national energy must be united, must focus on handling the health crisis, and push for quality growth," he stated.

"Our economic growth is currently in the process of recovery, and during the time of rising, we must greet it with optimism, enthusiasm, hard work, and bravery," he affirmed.

The key to the nation’s economic recovery lies in the capability of all sides to handle the pandemic, the president noted.

"The 3M (washing hands, wearing mask and maintaining social distancing), 3T (tracing, testing and treatment, and PPKM (micro-scale social restrictions) should continue to be implemented while at the same time we should conduct the large-scale vaccination program," he stated.

Indonesia recorded a slower economic contraction of 2.07 percent year-on-year in 2020 in contrast with the government's estimate of 2.2-1.7 percent, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) stated.

"Cumulatively, the Indonesian economy contracted 2.07 percent in 2020 as compared to that in 2019," BPS Chief Suhariyanto remarked during a press conference here recently.

The economy shrank 2.19 percent yoy in the fourth quarter of 2020 despite the government having made some improvements, he pointed out.

The Indonesian economy has shown signs of contraction owing to the COVID-19 pandemic since the first quarter of 2020 when it only clocked a growth of 2.97 percent.

Under normal circumstances, the Indonesian economy registers an average growth of five percent yoy in the first quarter.

The pandemic, which hindered economic activities and human mobility, has driven Indonesia into recession after its economic growth contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter and 3.49 percent in the third quarter of last year.

Indonesia's economy that contracted 2.07 percent yoy in 2020 was above the global average, Kunta Wibawa Dasa Nugraha, expert staff in charge of state expenditure affairs of the Ministry of Finance, stated.

"Although it is a minus, but the global level was minus 3.5 percent, which means we are much better than the world average. Some countries have recorded a minus of far above 3.5 percent," Suhariyanto noted during the Webinar on the Acceleration of Social Economy here on Sunday.

The Indonesian economy was driven to a severe contraction of 5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020 since the government's stimulus had yet to be optimally accelerated, he stated. (Antaranews)

Feb. 25 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) bore witness to the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to journalists at the Senayan Basket Hall at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Jakarta on Thursday.

The president and his entourage comprising Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate, and Chief of the Press Council Mohammad Nuh, reached the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Stadium at around 9:00 Western Indonesian Time (WIB).

The head of state later witnessed the initial screening of journalists before being injected the vaccine shots.

The president made it a point to converse with several vaccinators and journalists before observing the implementation of the second phase of the government's COVID-19 vaccination program.

During the peak commemoration of National Press Day at the State Palace in Jakarta on February 9, 2021, the president pledged to accord priority to the vaccination of journalists.

Jokowi highlighted the need for journalists to receive the COVID-19 vaccination on account of their regular interactions with people, especially informants, during the course of their duties.

"As I have pledged during the commemoration of National Press Day, we want to prioritize journalists to get vaccinated. Alhamdulillah (thank God), the vaccination of 5,500 journalists has begun and run smoothly. We hope (the vaccination) will protect journalists, who frequently interact with the public and informants (from being exposed to the coronavirus)," he stated.

The COVID-19 vaccination of journalists is the second phase of the government's vaccination program after it earlier offered free vaccination to all healthcare workers throughout the nation.

On Wednesday (Feb 24), President Jokowi was also present to witness up-close the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to teachers at the state senior high school building SMA Negeri 70 in South Jakarta.

In total, 650 public service officers, comprising teachers, lecturers, and other education workers from across Jakarta, received the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at the school building on Wednesday.

The teachers, lecturers, and education workers will receive their second shots of the COVID-19 vaccine in 14 days.

The government has targeted to inoculate 181,554,464 people, or 70 percent of Indonesia’s total population, in order to develop herd immunity against the coronavirus.

In keeping with the roadmap for COVID-19 vaccination, some 1.46 million healthcare workers on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19 will be administered the vaccine shots until April 2021.

In the meantime, the number of senior citizens and public service officers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is estimated to reach 21.5 million and 16.9 million respectively.

A total of 1,363,138 Indonesians have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday, with 825,650 people receiving their second vaccine dose, too, the Health Ministry stated.

The number of people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine rose by 93,233 on Wednesday as compared to the day before. In the meantime, the number of people receiving their second dose increased by 35,684, according to the ministry’s data.

The 1,363,138 Indonesians chiefly constituted healthcare workers prioritized under the first phase of the vaccination program and public service officers being vaccinated under the second phase of the program. (Antaranews)

Feb. 25 -  The United States expressed concern over Malaysia’s deportation of nearly 1,100 Myanmar nationals and urged countries in the region to hold off on any repatriations in light of the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday. (Reuters)