VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jan.27 - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has revealed that 179 thousand out of the 1.48 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Indonesia as of January 25, 2021.

Indonesia is among the ASEAN member states to roll out a COVID-19 vaccination campaign at the start of this year, with President Joko Widodo getting the first shot of the Sinovac vaccine on January 13, 2021, Hartarto noted.

“We hope the (vaccination) target can be achieved. At this moment, about 179 thousand people have been vaccinated,” he said here on Tuesday.

He said the first phase of the free COVID-19 vaccine program, which will last from January to April, 2021, will target 1.3 million medical workers, 17.4 million public service officers, and 21.5 million senior citizens.

The second phase of the program, which will be conducted from April, 2021 to March, 2022, will cover 63.9 million vulnerable people living in areas with the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission and another 77.4 million people.

Minister Hartarto said President Joko Widodo has ordered the accelerated inoculation of 77.4 million Indonesians, which was originally scheduled for January to March, 2022.

“The government has set a schedule to move forward the vaccination of 77 million Indonesians, which had originally been planned to last from January to March next year,” he stated.

He said the government will continue to monitor the vaccination program, and at the same time, uphold discipline in following health protocols such as wearing masks, washing hands, and observing physical distancing.

In addition, the government will focus on reducing the COVID-19 fatality rate through tracing, testing, and treatment, in line with the availability of drugs and hospital beds, he added.

Ministers, public figures, officials, artists, traders, teachers, and workers received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on January 13, 2021, as the government officially launched its free vaccine program.

President Widodo was the first to receive a COVID jab, just 48 hours after the Indonesian food and drug monitoring agency authorized Sinovac’s vaccine for emergency use, based on the results of Phase Three clinical trials in Bandung and other scientific data.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has also issued a halal fatwa for vaccines used in the immunization program. (Antaranews)

Jan. 27 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is scheduled to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (January 27, 2021).

“Mr. President will receive the second shot of the vaccine on Wednesday (January 27, 2021), in accordance with the given schedule,” chief of the Presidential Secretariat, Heru Budi Hartono, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Sinovac-made CoronaVac vaccine needs to be administered twice at an interval of 14 days, with each inoculation dose at 0.5 mililiter.

President Joko Widodo received the first shot of the Sinovac vaccine on January 13, 2021. He was the first Indonesian to receive the vaccine.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, revealed that 179 thousand out of the 1.48 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Indonesia as of January 25, 2021.

Indonesia is among the ASEAN member states to roll out a COVID-19 vaccination campaign at the start of this year, Hartarto noted.

He said the first phase of the free COVID-19 vaccine program, which will last from January to April, 2021, will target 1.3 million medical workers, 17.4 million public service officers, and 21.5 million senior citizens.

The second phase of the program, which will be conducted from April, 2021 to March, 2022, will cover 63.9 million vulnerable people living in areas with the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission and another 77.4 million people. (Antaranews)

Jan. 27 - Projected budget allocation for the national economic recovery program (PEN) this year will reach Rp553.09 trillion, or close to the realization of Rp579.78 trillion in 2020, Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto stated.

"During the last cabinet meeting, plenary session, and at our meetings, the Ministry of Finance has collected data and figures related to allocation for economic recovery in 2021, the amount for which reached Rp553 trillion," he remarked while speaking at a discussion on economic recovery here on Tuesday.

The government has raised the PEN budget allocation, from earlier Rp403.9 trillion, to demonstrate its commitment and support for economic recovery and adeptly handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This means the government has seen that economic recovery in 2021 requires similar support as that in 2020," he stated.

Hartarto noted that until Indonesians achieve herd immunity through vaccinations conducted until next year, the government is necessitated to support six fields -- health, social protection, priority programs, MSMEs, and corporate financing, and business incentives -- that have been the focus of the 2021 PEN budget.

Some Rp104.7 trillion is apportioned for the health sector for procurement and operations pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccine, facilities, infrastructure, and medical devices; treatment claim costs; incentives for health workers and death benefits; as well as BPJS (health insurance) subsidies.

Some Rp150.96 trillion has been allotted for the social protection sector; Rp141.36 trillion for priority programs focused on supporting tourism, food security, labor-intensive ministries, industrial estates, among others; and Rp156.06 trillion for MSMEs and corporate financing.

Meanwhile, the realization of funds for last year's PEN budget had reached Rp579.78 trillion, or 83.4 percent of the ceiling of Rp695.2 trillion.

The realization included Rp63.51 trillion for the health field from a ceiling of Rp99.5 trillion and Rp220.39 trillion for social protection from a ceiling of Rp230.21 trillion. (Antaranews)

Jan. 26 - China and New Zealand signed a deal on Tuesday upgrading a free trade pact to give exports from the Pacific nation greater access to the world’s second-largest economy.

The pact comes as Beijing seeks to establish itself as a strong advocate of multilateralism after a bruising trade war with the United States, at a time when the coronavirus has forced the closure of many international borders.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the signing of the expanded deal.

“China remains one of our most important trade partners...For this to take place during the global economic crisis bought about by COVID-19 makes it particularly important,” she told a news conference.

The pact widens an existing trade deal with China to ensure it remains fit for purpose for another decade, Trade Minister Damien O’Connor said in a statement.

It provides for tariffs to be either removed or cut on many of New Zealand’s mostly commodities-based exports, ranging from dairy to timber and seafood, while compliance costs will also be reduced.

For a factbox on key deal points, please click on the square brackets:

CHINA’S MULTILATERAL PUSH

“The upgrade shows the two sides’ firm determination to support multilateralism and free trade,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman of China’s foreign ministry, told a news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
The previous day, speaking at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, President Xi Jinping had criticised isolationism and “Cold War” thinking and called for barriers to trade, investment and technological exchange to be removed.

In recent months, Beijing has signed an investment pact with the European Union and joined the world’s largest free trade bloc in the 15-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes New Zealand.

China has also expressed interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement, the successor to a pact from which Washington withdrew.

China’s new deal with Wellington also opens up sectors such as aviation, education and finance. In exchange, New Zealand will increase visa quotas for Chinese language teachers and tour guides, the official Xinhua news agency said.

New Zealand was the first developed nation to sign a free trade pact with China in 2008, and has long been touted by Beijing as an exemplar of Western engagement.

China is now New Zealand’s largest trading partner, with annual two-way trade of more than NZ$32 billion ($21.58 billion).

But ties have been tested under Ardern’s government as New Zealand criticised China’s influence on small Pacific islands and raised human rights concerns about Muslim Uighurs.

Ardern also backed Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Organization (WHO) despite a warning from Beijing.

The wider trade pact also comes as Beijing’s ties with neighbouring Australia worsened after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in central China.

Australia has appealed to the World Trade Organization to review China’s decision to impose hefty tariffs on imports of its barley.

New Zealand, which will host the regional Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this year, has said it would be willing to help negotiate a truce between China and Australia. (Reuters)