VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno shed light on his three key plans to breathe new life into Indonesia's tourism sector.

"Our three main initiatives include innovations, as we need to move swiftly under the president's and the vice president's directives. There needs to be a quick win," Uno noted at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.

President Joko Widodo earlier today swore in Sandiaga Uno as minister of tourism and creative economy/head of the Creative Economy Board, replacing Wishnutama Kusubandio.

"There needs to be a fundamental change when we re-organize the five super-priority destinations. We need to conduct innovations, right from the costumes to the dances, a total 360-degree coverage," he emphasized.

The minister expounded that innovations will be conducted in terms of infrastructure and other factors related to tourism and creative economy, culinary arts, and fashion, among others.

"Secondly, adaptation. We need to adapt to the current scenario with the COVID-19 pandemic raging on. CHSE (Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment) protocols are one of the factors we need to ensure as a requirement for revival of this sector," he remarked.

Collaboration was the last factor highlighted by Uno as part of his initiatives.  

"We have to involve all parties as this is a huge responsibility. We have to direct our concerns towards the millions of jobs in the tourism and creative economy sector that were hit by the pandemic," he stated.

The minister vowed to fight for the survival and empowerment of the tourism sector.

"That way, we can open the widest possible job opportunities and maintain the level of income and welfare of the community, especially in the tourism sector and the creative economy," he remarked.

President Joko Widodo earlier inaugurated six ministers and five vice ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet at the State Palace here on Wednesday.

The six ministers are Yaqut Cholil Khoumas as religious affairs minister; Budi Gunadi Sadikin as health minister; Tri Rismaharani as social affairs minister; Muhammad Lutfi as trade minister; Sakti Wahyu Trenggono as maritime affairs and fisheries minister; and Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno as tourism and creative economy minister/chief of the Tourism and Creative Economy Board.

They were appointed as ministers based on Presidential Decree No. 133/P/2020 dated December 23, 2020, on the replacement of several ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet for the 2014-2024 term.

The five vice ministers are Muhammad Herindra as vice defense minister; Edward Omar Syarif Hiariej as vice minister of law and human rights; Dante Saksono Harbuwono as vice health minister; Harvick Hasnul Qolbi as vice agriculture minister; and Pahala Nugraha Mansyur as vice minister of state-owned enterprises.

They were appointed as vice ministers based on Presidential Decree No. 76/M/2020 dated December 23, 2020, on the dismissal and appointment of vice ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet for the 2019-2024 term. (antaranews)

Amid reports of drug syndicates lacing instant food and beverages with marijuana to get children addicted to the narcotic, South Jakarta police have urged parents in the capital city to exercise care while buying packaged products.

"Please stay alert. Do not let yourselves get deceived by the pack cover of the cannabis-infused food and beverage products," South Jakarta Metropolitan Police chief, Sen.Coms. Budi Sartono, was quoted by ANTARA as saying here on Wednesday.

The warning has been issued after the recent arrest of two suspects, identified by their initials as AK and SN, over sale and production of marijuana-infused food and beverage products, he informed.

AK was apprehended in South Jakarta on December 11, 2020 for ordering and selling products made by SN, while SN was nabbed from his house in Aceh Besar district, Aceh on December 17, 2020, he said.

When investigators got several samples of chocolate milk powder that SN had supplied to AK examined in a laboratory, they were found to contain marijuana, he added.

Police also found substantial traces of marijuana in milk, coffee, and "dodol" (a traditional snack made of coconut milk, glutinous rice, and palm sugar) products confiscated from SN, he continued.

The suspects have been placed under police custody for further questioning since there is reason to believe SN may have supplied his products to Jakarta and its outskirts, Sartono said.

"We are still probing this possibility," he said, adding that the cannabis-laced milk powder was being sold in sachets like the ones usually found in cafes.

The marijuana-laced coffee powder was also being sold in sachets to avoid making consumers suspicious, said Sartono adding, police will seal the premises of shop-owners found selling any such products.

Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia a potential market owing to its vast population and millions of drug users. Drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.

People from all strata of society are falling prey to drugs, regardless of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.

The Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug kingpins found smuggling and trading drugs in the country over the past few decades.

National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief, Commissioner General Heru Winarko, has sought capital punishment for those involved in drug trade in the country. Meanwhile, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.

According to National Police chief, General Idham Azis, Indonesian district courts have awarded capital punishment to at least 100 drug offenders in the first half of this year.

However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as a main market, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to tighten vigilance against them.

House of Representatives' PAN faction Chairman Saleh Partaonan Daulay affirmed that new Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin (BGS) has several tasks that necessitate serious attention, including the COVID-19 problem that must be tackled immediately.

"Several hopes and expectations rest on the shoulders of BGS. There are many tasks at the Ministry of Health that need to be taken seriously. Apart from the routine problems faced every year, the COVID-19 problem is certainly an issue that is not resolved easily," Daulay remarked when confirmed in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Several parties have cast quite rational doubts over BGS since he does not come from the medical field, according to Daulay.

He assessed that the person appointed as health minister was not from the health field, quite contrary to the earlier practice of professionals in the medical field being chosen for the post.

"That doubt must be put to rest by Mr Budi Gunadi Sadikin (BGS). Mr BGS certainly understands that the task, as minister of health, is very huge, especially in the current COVID-19 pandemic," he emphasized.

However, Daulay believes that BGS, with previous experience in leading various institutions, will shoulder the task of leading the Ministry of Health adeptly.

He gauged that from the managerial aspect, BGS is certainly not in doubt since his experience can be put to best use at the Ministry of Health.

Daulay, a member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives, stated that people are certainly awaiting better health services.

Furthermore, he highlighted the public’s aspirations of being free from the COVID-19 problem, so that the economy will gradually improve.

In addition, Daulay respects President Jokowi's decision to appoint six new ministers in the ranks of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet.

"These six new ministers are expected to bolster the government’s strength to improve performance in serving the community. Hence, all parties are expected to give them time to work and deliver achievements," he added. (antaranews)

The coronavirus has landed in Antarctica, the last continent previously free from COVID-19, Chile’s military said this week, as health and army officials scrambled to clear out and quarantine staff from a remote research station surrounded by ocean and icebergs.

Chile’s armed forces said at least 36 people had been infected at its Bernardo O’Higgins base, including 26 army personnel and 10 civilian contractors conducting maintenance at the base.

The permanently staffed research station, operated by Chile’s army, lies near the tip of a peninsula in northernmost Antarctica, overlooking a bay often dotted with icebergs.

Base personnel “are already properly isolated and constantly monitored” by health authorities in Magallanes, in Chilean Patagonia, the army said, adding there had so far been no complications.

Research and military stations in Antarctica - among the most remote in the world - had gone to extraordinary lengths in recent months to keep the virus out, canceling tourism, scaling back activities and staff, and locking down facilities.

Researchers with the British Antarctic Survey estimate about 1,000 people at 38 stations across the frozen continent had safely navigated the southern hemisphere winter without incident. But an uptick in travel to and from the region this spring and early summer have heightened infection risk.

An Army press officer said the first COVID-19 cases had been reported in mid-December, when two soldiers fell ill.

The Magallanes region, one of the closest populated areas to Antarctica and take-off point for many boats and planes headed to the continent, is among the hardest-hit in Chile.

Much of the area, blasted by cold winds off the ocean, mountains, and glaciers, has been under quarantine restrictions for months.

Chile’s Navy reported it too had detected three cases of COVID-19 among 208 crew members of a ship that had sailed in the Antarctic region between Nov. 27 and Dec. 10. (reuters)