VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Central Executive Board Chairman of the Young Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (BPP HIPMI) Mardani H. Maming believes that the COVID-19 vaccine, to be offered free of charge to people, will infuse positive sentiment for national economic growth.

"I am ready to be vaccinated first to support government programs. We really laud the president's step to be able to provide vaccines for all Indonesian people. This is a concrete step of the government to ensure health and certainty for all Indonesian people. We believe this program will lend a positive sentiment for our national economic growth," Maming noted in a written statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Maming expressed the belief that the provision of vaccines can expedite and bolster Indonesia’s fight against COVID-19, so it will accelerate recovery in various sectors, especially in the economic sector.

"The economy will be able to recover soon and minimize unemployment due to the pandemic," he remarked.

Maming affirmed that HIPMI will support the vaccine program through early inoculation for all entrepreneurs, who are members of the organization.

Furthermore, he laid emphasis on the importance of the public not hesitating to receive the COVID-19 vaccine since the government will ensure that the vaccine to be administered is safe and has no other detrimental effects.

"In principle, we instruct all members of HIPMI throughout Indonesia to follow the government's recommendation. This is since several people are consumed by hoaxes about vaccines. We actually help straighten them out and have belief in the available vaccines," he affirmed.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo had earlier remarked that the COVID-19 vaccines will be administered to all citizens, without exception, regardless of whether they are registered with the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

The president made the statement while handing out Working Capital Assistance of Rp2.4 million to merchants at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Friday.

"Hence, the vaccines are for all people without exception, so that we can return to normal. It also has nothing to do with BPJS members. There is an issue that only those holding a BPJS card are (going to be) vaccinated,” Widodo remarked.

To create communal or herd immunity, a minimum of 70 percent of Indonesia's population, or 182 million people, will need to be vaccinated, he pointed out.

Vaccines will be provided free of charge, he stated.

Widodo affirmed that notifications on the vaccination will be issued through the community health clinics or urban villages.

"Everyone, all residents, can participate in the vaccination. However, it will be arranged by the village or clinics near us," he added. 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the COVID-19 vaccination program, the implementation of the Job Creation Act, the agreement to reduce import duties on Indonesian export products to the United States, and the establishment of the Indonesia Investment Authority would be factors driving accelerated domestic economic recovery in 2021.

With a number of factors driving the economic recovery, President Jokowi, during his presentation of the Indonesian Economic Outlook in Jakarta, Tuesday, said he was optimistic that Indonesia would soon revive and the economy would recover.

"In a pandemic situation like this, we must be able to move quickly, be able to strengthen cooperation and synergy. I am optimistic that we will rise, our economy will return to normal, "said the President, delivering his speech virtually.

The president said the COVID-19 vaccination program, which will start in early 2021, will increase public confidence regarding the recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic. That way, the public will regain a sense of security and will increase household consumption.

The president also believes that the flow of investment will be heavier due to the implementation of the Job Creation Law. Until the end of 2020, the export performance had improved.

Moreover, in 2021, export performance will also increase again, among others due to the implementation of import duty relief for Indonesian exports to the US after the extension of Generalized System Preferences cooperation.

The President also explained that Indonesia will have an investment manager or Indonesia Investment Authority that works like a Sovereign Wealth Fund.

This institution will manage sources of development financing based on equity or equity, not loans.

"This will nourish our economy, our BUMNs, especially in the infrastructure sector and in the energy sector," he said.

Currently, said the Head of State, several countries have expressed their interest in cooperating with Indonesian investment management institutions, including the United States, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.

The Head of State promised that good policy in 2020 will be continued in 2021, especially policies in the health sector for handling COVID-19, and also policies for social protection assistance for the people. (antaranews)

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati explained that government spending in the 2021 State Budget is one focus on restoring the economy and society from the impact of the pandemic, including free COVID-19 vaccination.

"In 2021, we will use fiscal instruments as a catalyst and driver for the national economic recovery to speed up further," Sri Mulyani said in the 2021 Indonesian Economic Outlook in Jakarta, Tuesday.

The minister explained that in 2021, state spending will reach IDR2,750 trillion, including central government spending reaching IDR 1,954 trillion with a deficit projected to reach 5.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The 2021 strategic policies include education with a budget allocation of IDR 550 trillion, one of which is to support education reform, including still providing internet support for students, students, and teachers.

For health, she continued, the government has allocated IDR 169.7 trillion which does not include the budget not absorbed in the 2020 national economic recovery program (PEN), which is estimated to reach IDR 32-34 trillion.

The social protection budget is also still large with an allocation of Rp. 408.8 trillion, then the budget for food security reaches Rp. 99 trillion to boost food productivity through the revitalization of the food system and food estate.

The government will also continue infrastructure development, which was previously delayed in 2020 due to the pandemic, with a budget allocation of IDR 417.8 trillion.

The minister emphasized that even though the infrastructure budget is larger than health, the government remains focused on handling the pandemic.

"We guarantee that all health measures with good governance can still carry out all policies to restore economic recovery through the prerequisites for effective handling of COVID and supported by aspects of public health," she added.

The government also pays attention to the tourism sector which is most affected by the corona with an allocation of Rp. 14.2 trillion which is directed at restoring tourism, including supporting the transportation sector.

Expenditures in the information and communication technology sector are also budgeted to reach Rp. 26 trillion.

"We hope that in 2021 we will be able to handle COVID in a much better, more effective manner and that the economic recovery in 2021 can be accelerated," Sri Mulyani added. (antaranews)

The World Health Organization cautioned against major alarm over a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution.
WHO officials even put a positive light on the discovery of the new strains that prompted a slew of alarmed countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain and South Africa, saying new tools to track the virus were working.

“We have to find a balance. It’s very important to have transparency, it’s very important to tell the public the way it is, but it’s also important to get across that this is a normal part of virus evolution,” WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan told an online briefing.

“Being able to track a virus this closely, this carefully, this scientifically in real time is a real positive development for global public health, and the countries doing this type of surveillance should be commended.”

Citing data from Britain, WHO officials said they had no evidence that the variant made people sicker or was more deadly than existing strains of COVID-19, although it did seem to spread more easily.

Countries imposing travel curbs were acting out of an abundance of caution while they assess risks, Ryan said, adding: “That is prudent. But it is also important that everyone recognises that this happens, these variants occur.”

WHO officials said coronavirus mutations had so far been much slower than with influenza and that even the new UK variant remained much less transmissible than other diseases like mumps.

They said vaccines developed to combat COVID-19 should handle the new variants as well, although checks were under way to ensure this was the case.

“So far, even though we have seen a number of changes, a number of mutations, none has made a significant impact on either the susceptibility of the virus to any of the currently used therapeutics, drugs or the vaccines under development and one hopes that will continue to be the case,” WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the briefing.

The WHO said it expects to get more detail within days or weeks on the potential impact of the highly transmissible new coronavirus strain. (reuters)