VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 22 - Floods triggered by incessant heavy rain in Jakarta on Saturday claimed five lives comprising one elderly man and four children, according to the capital city's disaster mitigation office (BPBD) .

Four children and one senior citizen died when Jakarta was hit by major flooding on early Saturday, Sabdo Kurnianto, Chief Executive of the Jakarta BPBD, said on Sunday.

A 67-year-old man, resident of Jatipadang, South Jakarta, was found dead in his locked home that was submerged by flood waters, he said.

Three small boys were swept away by strong flood current in South Jakarta and a seven-year old girl drowned in floodwaters in West Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the office had deployed personnel to carry out evacuation process of flood victims and distributed relief aid comprising food and equipment for cleaning homes affected by the flooding.

"In accordance with the Governor's instructions, we will continue to carry out flood handling by prioritizing the safety of people," he remarked.

Based on data from the Jakarta BPBD, the flood waters began to recede in a number of areas but there were still 49 neighborhood units (RT) affected by the flood, or 0.161 percent of the capital city's total 30,470 RTs.

"A total of 1,722 members of 514 families, all of whom are from the East Jakarta area, have been displaced. They have been accommodated in 10 shelters in East Jakarta," he noted.

The flood waters reached a height of up to one meter in East Jakarta. The evacuation process of flood victims was conducted with the support of police and military officers.

The Jakarta authorities called for assistance as flood victims still needed more relief aid such as food, drinking waters, medic kits, family kits, mattresses, blankets and masks.

Jakarta residents living in flood prone areas are urged to remain vigilant as the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that heavy rains would most likely to fall on February 22 and 23 in most parts of Jakarta and surrounding cities such as Bekasi, West Java. (Antaranews)

Feb. 22 - Rector of the University of Indonesia (UI) Professor Ari Kuncoro highlighted the importance of making and promoting strategic policies that effectively and efficiently enable limited resources to cope with the impacts of COVID pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has dragged almost all countries into a situation that forces them to confront multidimensional challenges in the midst of limited resources, he told a webinar on impacts of COVID-19 on Asia's economy on Sunday.

The situation has pushed demands for financial resources to recover the economic impacts of COVID-19, Kuncoro stated in a statement that made available to journalists regarding the international webinar.

The webinar was co-organized by the UI's Economic and Social Research Institute (LPEM), Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), The University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP), and Toshiba International Foundation.

Kuncoro said endeavors to handle the multidimensional challenges could also bring positive impacts on development in the affected countries.

"I hope the participants will get new insights from this discussion forum," he said.

The participants could also share knowledge and experience with related stakeholders in infrastructure development so that they would more comprehensively understand about Asia's challenges and problems in the future, he said.

Dean of UI's Faculty of Economics and Business Yulianita Gitaharie said the webinar was also expected to share several countries' insightful experiences in making policies and endeavors to maintain their quality of infrastructure services.

"Physical and mobility restrictions have severely affected the maintenance and operation of infrastructure development projects," Gitaharie argued.

The condition has challenged policy makers to make policies that enable the infrastructure system to be adaptive to the pandemic situation, Gitaharie said.

Regarding Asia's economic growth, Teguh Dartanto, Vice Dean for Academic and Research Affairs at UI's Faculty of Economics and Business, said the economic growth of many countries in the region shrank about 2.3 percent compared to those in 2019.

The shrinking economic growths occurred because many countries enforced social restrictions that tremendously affected consumption level, business expension, and supply chain, he argued.

The condition has triggered changes in the construction of social infrastructure in the fields of education, health, governance, and public housing, Dartanto said.

In dealing with it, he proposed that countries make relevant policies for social infrastructure by providing affordable and decent houses, building temporary health centers, and changing budget posture by focusing on health sector. (Antaranews)

Feb. 19 - The need for corporate financing is indicated to increase in the next three months, particularly to support operational activities, as indicated by the weighted net balance (SBT) of financing needs that amounted to 27.1 percent.

An increase in financing needs was mainly experienced in the mining and quarrying sector; agriculture, fisheries and forestry; information and communication and real estate.

"The corporate financing needs are partially planned to use their own funds (retained earnings) and partly from bank credit," Executive Director of the Communication Department of Bank Indonesia (BI) Erwin Haryono noted in a statement in Jakarta on Friday in connection with the Banking Financing Demand and Supply Survey in January 2021.

Haryono expounded that the additional household financing in the next three and six months is indicated to still be limited. Commercial banks are still the main preference of households in their future financing plans, especially in the form of Multi-Purpose Loans, Home Ownership Loans, and Motor Vehicle Loans.

From the banking supply side, indications of new credit disbursement increased in the first quarter of 2021, as was mirrored in the estimation of SBT for new credit disbursement of 67.4 percent.

"Based on bank groups, quarterly growth is forecast for all bank categories and for all types of credit," Haryono stated. (Antaranews)

Feb. 19 - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held talks with her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore on Thursday to discuss the latest developments in Myanmar and steps to address the political conflict in the country.

"The two ministers agreed that ASEAN can play an important role in facilitating constructive dialog and (help) Myanmar return to normalcy and stability," Singapore's Foreign Ministry noted in a written statement on Thursday.

At the meeting, Marsudi and Balakrishnan discussed steps that ASEAN may take to respond to the situation in Myanmar, including encouraging dialog involving all stakeholders, including partner countries, according to the statement.

To this end, both foreign ministers encouraged the ASEAN to hold a ministerial-level informal meeting soon to accommodate member countries' views on the issue.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Balakrishnan urged all parties in Myanmar to exercise restraint and ease tensions.

"Live bullets may not be fired at unarmed civilians in any situation," Balakrishnan emphasized.

The two foreign ministers also expressed concern over developments in the situation in Myanmar following a military coup in Naypyitaw on Feb 1, 2021.

"The two hope that all parties would prioritize dialog to find a peaceful resolution and (achieve) national reconciliation in Myanmar, including returning to a democratically elected government," Singapore's Foreign Ministry stated.

At the meeting, the two foreign ministers also discussed other issues of mutual concern, including exploring the possibility of collaboration to address the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting with Singapore’s foreign minister took place a day after Marsudi met with Brunei Darussalam Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof in Bandar Seri Begawan on Wednesday (Feb 17).

At the meeting, Marsudi and Yusof discussed ASEAN's role in helping Myanmar return to a democratic transition.

Marsudi affirmed that ASEAN's assistance for Myanmar must respect the principles of non-intervention, constructive engagement, and prioritizing the safety and welfare of the Myanmar people as mandated by the ASEAN Charter.

At a meeting with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in Jakarta on February 5, 2021, Indonesian President Joko Widodo proposed an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar "as one family".

The Indonesian and Malaysian foreign ministers conveyed the proposal to Brunei Darussalam, which is the ASEAN chair for 2021.

Brunei Darussalam received the proposal and held a virtual meeting with Myanmar on February 11, 2021.

The Myanmar military seized power after detaining the country's political figures from the National League for Democracy (NLD), including Leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint as well as several pro-democracy and human rights activists.

Shortly after seizing power, the military imposed a one-year state of emergency that puts executive, legislative, and judicial powers under the control of Military Chief General Min Aung Hlaing.

Two days after the coup, the Myanmar police officially arrested Suu Kyi on charges of importing illegal communications equipment, while President Myint was arrested for allegedly violating the disaster management law. (Antaranews)