VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI, Jakarta - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has advised people to take the same precautions against acute respiratory infections (ARIs) during the dry season as they did against COVID-19. 

"Acute respiratory infection is an airborne disease so COVID-19 prevention measures, such as wearing masks, can be applied," said Harimat Hendarwan, the head of BRIN's Research Center for Preclinical and Clinical Medicine, on Wednesday.

A person can experience ARIs due to exposure to foreign particles, such as viruses and bacteria, that enter the body through the respiratory tract, he added.

Wearing a mask and avoiding crowds can help minimize the entry of these particles into the body, he continued.

Hendarwan said that to prevent respiratory diseases, people must consume nutritious and balanced meals, exercise regularly, avoid dehydration, and observe hygiene.

He pointed out some viruses that cause respiratory diseases, such as rhinovirus, which causes flu; pneumococcus, which causes pneumonia; and adenovirus, which causes bronchitis.

Meanwhile, certain bacteria like streptococcus, haemophilus, and Staphylococcus aureus can also cause respiratory issues.

He also said that the worsening air pollution has resulted in a spike in respiratory infections.

Hence, he called for reducing the sources of pollutants to suppress the increasing cases of respiratory infections.

"The best effort to suppress pollutants is controlling industrial and vehicle emissions. However, if the cause is forest and land fires, then we must focus on controlling fire spots," he said.

According to the Health Ministry's data, at least 100 thousand residents in Jakarta experience respiratory infections every month.

Meanwhile, reports of respiratory infections were recorded in Kalimantan and Sumatra due to forest and land fires.

A pulmonary specialist at the Persahabatan General Hospital, Dr. Agus Dwi Susanto, said that air pollution is one of the risk factors for an increase in pneumonia cases. (Reuters)

VOI, Jakarta - Australia will address significant abuses of its visa system, the government said on Thursday, in a bid to crack down on human trafficking and other forms of organised crime.

The government will establish a division in the Department of Home Affairs to tackle abuses of the visa and migration system, funded with A$50 million ($31.48 million).

Former police commissioner Christine Nixon highlighted in a January report "abuses of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and other organised crime" in the immigration system.

"The Nixon Review has identified significant abuse and misuse of Australia's visa system," immigration minister Andrew Giles said.

"By once again prioritising integrity in immigration, we're able to help protect vulnerable communities from exploitation, and make our visa system fairer for everyone."

Long reliant on immigration to supply what is now one of the tightest labour markets in the world, Australia has proposed overhauling its system to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers and smoothening the path to permanent residency.

The government said in April the visa process for skilled professionals would be made quicker and easier, while steps would be taken to retain international students. (Reuters)

VOI, Jakarta - To own a car in Singapore, a buyer must bid for a certificate that now costs $106,000, equivalent to four Toyota Camry Hybrids in the U.S., as a post-pandemic recovery has driven up the cost of the city-state's vehicle quota system to all-time highs.

Singapore has a 10-year "certificate of entitlement" (COE) system, introduced in 1990, to control the number of vehicles in the small country, which is home to 5.9 million people and can be driven across in less than an hour.

The quota, offered through a bidding process, has made it the most expensive city in the world to buy a car, with the COE for a large car more than quadrupling from 2020 prices on Wednesday to a record S$146,002 ($106,376.68).

Including COE, registration fees and taxes, a new standard Toyota Camry Hybrid currently costs S$251,388 ($183,000) in Singapore, compared with $28,855 in the U.S. A small, government-subsidised flat in Singapore costs about S$125,000

In 2020, when fewer people in Singapore were driving, the price of COEs dropped to about S$30,000; a post-COVID increase in economic activity has led to more car purchases while the total number of vehicles on the road is capped at about 950,000. The number of new COEs available depends on how many older cars are deregistered.

The skyrocketing price puts cars firmly out of reach of most middle-class Singaporeans, putting a dent in what sociologist Tan Ern Ser said was the "Singapore Dream" of upward social mobility - having cash, a condominium and a car.

The median annual household salary in Singapore is S$121,188.

Singaporeans have been battered by persistent inflation and a slowing economy, and some are selling the cars they bought when COE prices were low to make a profit.

"There is a need to lower one’s aspiration from achieving the 'good life' to settling with a 'good enough life'," Tan said.

Jason Guan, 40, an insurance agent and father of two, said he bought his first car, a Toyota Rush, for S$65,000 in 2008, including the price of the COE.

Now Guan lives without a car, focusing on other perks that Singapore offers for his family.

"As a family man, it doesn’t affect me much as Singapore still has a good and stable education system. In terms of security, it's still one of the safest countries," he said. (Reuters)

VOI, Jakarta - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has urged state universities (PTN) in Indonesia to open archeology study programs.

"There are currently only six PTNs with archeology study programs. We want to encourage them to help open archeology departments in other campuses, especially PTN-BH (Legal Entities)," BRIN head Laksana Tri Handoko said at an event held to mark the 20th anniversary of the discovery of Homo floresiensis fossils, which was followed online from Jakarta on Wednesday.

BRIN hopes that PTNs will strive to open archeology study programs, which are often considered to be devoid of interest, he added.

BRIN has prepared a forum for archeology study program graduates by opening a number of new research sites such as the Lematang River Basin Site (DAS) in Bumiayu, Central Java, and the Bongal Site in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra, he informed.

"So they don't need to be confused, just follow along. The cost is high to carry out excavations, we are already there, they just have to join in," he said.

Handoko added that his agency has devised a special mechanism to allow archeologists and campuses to work and carry out research with the support of equipment and a sustainable budget.

Considering the several efforts that BRIN will make to encourage PTNs to open archeology study programs, he hoped that archeology study programs can become favorites in the future.

He explained that archeology study program graduates would later be involved in different excavation projects, along with around 150 more senior archeologists.

"The plan is for two teams. Later, if it gets bigger, the students have learned, then the core team can be split again. Create a new area in Makassar, for example, or elsewhere," he said.

This effort is important to support Indonesian archeologists as well as pass down the legacy of previous generations of archeologists, he added.

"Without you (archeologists), we can't do anything. We can't let archeologists run out after you retire. That's why we are encouraging the opening of archeology study programs, if necessary, in all PTN-BH," said Handoko.

The six PTNs that are currently running archeology study programs are Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Udayana University in Bali, Hasanuddin University (Unhas) in Makassar, University of Indonesia (UI) in Depok, Haluoleo University (UHO) in Kendari, and Jambi University in Jambi. (ANTARA News)