VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (VOI News) - The Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, on Wednesday (2/9), summoned the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia to clarify the news about the prohibition of long term pass holders from the Philippines, Indonesia, and India.

Malaysian Government stated on Monday that the country will prohibit long term pass holders of the three countries from entering the country's territory to prevent imported cases of Covid-19. The policy will take effect from September 7, 2020.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Teuku Faizasyah said that his party was aware of this policy from reports in the media in Jakarta via short messages on Wednesday (2/9).

Teuku said the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Zainal Abidin Bakar, to clarify the news.

"For this reason, today (Wednesday), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia to provide clarification and has summoned him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for clarification on the news," Teuku said.

Teuku added that the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Zainal Abidin Bakar would convey the results of the talks to the Malaysian government and inform them that the policy was temporary and would be reviewed every week.

Responding to the Malaysian government's policy that prohibits holders of long-term residence permits (long term pass) from Indonesia from entering Malaysian territory, Teuku said the government urged Indonesian citizens not to make overseas visits except for very urgent needs.

"Indonesia again urges Indonesian citizens not to travel abroad, except for very, very urgent and unavoidable needs. But we will see the developments in Malaysia, and we will certainly provide some kind of notification through the travel advisory mechanism owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Teuku said.

Teuku Faizasyah further said that overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic requires good cooperation and communication between countries.

According to Teuku Faizasyah, Indonesia and Malaysia are ASEAN member countries, even the founders of ASEAN, so that the spirit of ASEAN must be manifested in cooperation in handling COVID-19. (VOI / AHM)

Minister of Research and Technology (Menristek) Bambang PS Brodjonegoro said that the D614G mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus type that causes Covid-19 will not interfere with efforts to develop a vaccine to ward off the disease.

"The effect of D614G, in essence, will not interfere with vaccine development efforts because this mutation does not cause changes in the structure or function of the RBD, the receptor-binding domain, which is part of the spike virus that is the target of the vaccine," said Bambang at the Covid-19 Task Force virtual press conference, in Jakarta, Wednesday.

"So, it means that efforts to develop the Red and White vaccine and other vaccines will not be disturbed by the presence of this D614G mutation," he added.

Head of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology Amin Soebandrio said that mutations cause changes in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but did not interfere with the RBD virus that was the target of the vaccine.

"Changes caused by this mutation, however, occur in spike proteins but at different locations so that the receptor-binding domain is not disturbed and as long as the vaccine is aimed at RBD, it will not interfere with the performance of the vaccine," he said.

Bambang reminded the public not to over-panic because of information about the mutations that occur in the coronavirus, but to remain vigilant with discipline in implementing health protocols to prevent transmission of COVID-19. (Antaranews)

Asia-Pacific nations convened the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) virtual conference to plan COVID-19 response and recovery to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and tackle the hunger crisis.

As COVID-19 continues to threaten lives and livelihoods across numerous nations of the Asia-Pacific region, it has led to setbacks in the fight to end hunger and malnutrition, the UN FAO announced, as noted in a release issued by the FAO Regional Office for Asia-Pacific and received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to over half of the world’s undernourished, and in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hungry people in Southern Asia is projected to rise by nearly a third to reach 330 million by 2030, the Sustainable Development Goal deadline set by the global community to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in all its forms.

In response, government representatives from 46 FAO member states in Asia and the Pacific have convened a four-day virtual conference to closely assess the current situation of food security in the region, with specific emphasis on implications linked to the spread of the coronavirus disease and its impact on food systems across regions.

Over 400 delegates are partaking in a virtual meeting of FAO’s 35th Session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan.

The meeting involved government officials, private sector, civil society, academia, and technical experts in the food and agriculture sectors.

From Afghanistan and Iran in the west, across populous South and East Asia, and far out into the Pacific Islands, novels ways and approaches will be deemed necessary to trounce over the twin pandemics of COVID-19 outbreak and hunger.

Climate change is another aggravating factor menacing efforts to boost resilience across our food systems.

"We must come to terms with what is before us and recognize that the world and our region has changed. We must find new ways to move forward and ensure sustainable food security in the face of these twin pandemics as well as prepare for threats that can and will evolve in the future," Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific Jong-Jin Kim stated.

"This virtual conference brings together people and ideas to chart a true course of action for the benefit of all," Kim stated.

The conference will highlight FAO’s recently launched comprehensive COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme designed to offer a flexible and coordinated global response targeted to ensure access to nutritious food for all. The program includes the mobilization of all forms of resources and partnerships at the country, regional, and global levels.

The main focus is to mitigate the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while concurrently bolstering the longer-term resilience of food systems and livelihoods.

The conference will also take into account new marketing channels, such as e-commerce and new technologies, including better storage facilities, which will help to reduce food losses, as these are critical to ensuring the flow of nutritious foods and to boost incomes of those engaged in the food and agriculture sectors.

Equally critical is enabling smallholder and family farmers – those who produce most of the food we consume – to become more dynamic, entrepreneurial, and competitive through continual innovation. Smallholders will require much greater access to financial resources, technology, and innovation.

Bringing all players together will be critical to realizing these gains, and to this end, the FAO is in the process of implementing the Hand-in-Hand Initiative. The conference will feature a special session to gauge the progress achieved in the region through this initiative.(Antaranews)

The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) through the Regional Infrastructure Development Agency (BPIW), is intensifying development in the super-priority National Tourism Strategic Zones (KSPN) to accelerate tourism revival in the new normal period.

BPIW head Hadi Sucahyono said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the tourism sector is expected to be one of the economic sectors that recover quickly, hence infrastructure development activities in the five super-priority KSPNs must not stop.

To support the development of the five super-priority KSPNs, the ministry has formulated an Integrated Tourism Master Plan (RIPT).

The five destinations designated by the Indonesian government as super priority KSPNs are Lake Toba in North Sumatra province, Borobudur Temple, which is located in Magelang, Central Java, not far from Yogyakarta, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and Manado-Likupang-Bitung in North Sulawesi province.

The KSPN infrastructure built by the PUPR Ministry includes roads and bridges, aimed at improving connectivity between the regions, he remarked.

The ministry has also constructed water reservoirs and flood control infrastructure, he said.

Besides, the development activities also include the construction of solid waste and sanitation facilities, as well as housing to support tourism areas.

He remarked that the five super-priority tourist destinations are expected to become world-class tourist destinations that prioritize the preservation and sustainable use of geological and cultural heritage.

He then called for support and collaboration from other ministries and institutions, local governments, and state-owned as well as private enterprises to bring about infrastructure and facility development.

Meanwhile, Frans Teguh, expert staff for sustainable development and conservation at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, has reminded local governments to implement the health protocols strictly amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

An audit control mechanism is very important so that tourism and creative economy activities can take place safely and productively, he noted.

"Another thing that needs to be paid attention to is how to manage the crowd, the euphoria of people when doing tourism activities, as well as regulating the number of visitors," he said. (Antaranews)