VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Manpower Ministry is continuing to strengthen employment programs and policies to help achieve the government's target of eradicating extreme poverty by 2024.

"This target can be achieved if all ministries, agencies, and local governments formulate policies and effectively implement various poverty alleviation programs," said Caswiyono Rusydie Cakrawangsa, a special staff member at the ministry, in a statement on Sunday.

During a focus group discussion (FGD) in Bogor, he said that the programs and policies include expanding job opportunities and business prospects by creating new jobs, developing existing jobs, providing vocational training programs to accelerate extreme poverty eradication, and broadening the scope of participation in the employment social security program for the extremely poor.

"We hope that the various programs across ministries and agencies can be synergized to support extreme poverty reduction in a more integrated, comprehensive, and targeted manner," he remarked.

The FGD, held from August 9-11, aimed to understand the roots of extreme poverty, governance of poverty data, and various effective approaches and strategies for poverty alleviation.

The results of this discussion will serve as the foundation for formulating policies to alleviate extreme poverty through the employment sector.

Meanwhile, the ministry's Head of the Bureau of Planning and Performance Management, Hery Budoyo, mentioned that this discussion was also part of the preparations for the draft of the Manpower Ministry's Strategic Plan for 2025-2029.

"This is an opportunity to evaluate the ministry's programs that support extreme poverty reduction, which can be used as inputs for the technocratic strategic plan," he said. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry is urging people to adopt a low-emission lifestyle to improve air quality in urban areas.

The ministry's Director General of Pollution and Environmental Damage Control, Sigit Reliantoro, stated that the primary cause of air pollution in urban areas is the use of conventional vehicles fueled by oil.

"Changing our lifestyle is crucial in urban areas," he said during a discussion held in Jakarta on Sunday.

He explained that developed countries prioritize walking, followed by cycling, using public transportation, and adopting electric vehicles.

This lifestyle, which emphasizes walking and cycling for transportation, benefits both air quality and physical health, he added.

"The key concept in transportation is to increase the movement of people, not just the number of vehicles. Therefore, vehicle efficiency is of utmost importance," Reliantoro emphasized.

In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Vital Strategies published a report on air pollution emissions in Jakarta.

The transportation sector recorded the highest fuel usage (44 percent), followed by the energy industry (31 percent), housing (14 percent), manufacturing (10 percent), and commercial (1 percent).

"This confirms the theory that street canyons are mainly caused by transportation activities," he observed.

The street canyon effect in urban areas traps air pollution at ground level due to tall buildings blocking the wind. As a result, air quality measurements in urban areas consistently show levels unfavorable for human health.

When an air quality index measurement device is mounted on a building wall, it reflects the air's condition at that specific location and not the overall ambient air quality.

Reliantoro noted that if a vehicle is used by only two people, it emits more pollutants than public transportation used by multiple individuals.

He cited Japan as an example, where walking, cycling, and using trains are prevalent among the population, making it one of the most efficient developed countries in this regard.

"Now, Jakarta has initiated the development of various public facilities such as pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes, improved public transportation, and even JakLingko (public minivans) navigating narrow streets," he said.

He added that these facilities should be embraced to instill a culture similar to that of developed countries. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi has encouraged broadcasters to adopt the latest digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

He made the statement at the 90th National Broadcasting Day (Harsiarnas) event in Bintan, Riau Islands, on Saturday.

Setiadi said that AI has the potential to revolutionize content creation, audience engagement, and advertising technology.

However, he also acknowledged that AI could create new challenges, such as job loss and ethical problems.

"Therefore, it is important for all stakeholders in the broadcasting industry to study the impact of technological development on the broadcasting industry in the future," he said.

Setiadi also assessed that the broadcasting industry in Indonesia has the ability to adapt to the ongoing technological dynamics.

He pointed to the prediction that television advertising revenue in Indonesia will grow by 10.3 percent in 2023, with a value of US$1.4 billion.

"This is real evidence that people in the broadcasting industry are very adaptive in dealing with the dynamics and challenges that are developing very rapidly," he said.

Setiadi hoped that the implementation of the 90th Harsiarnas commemoration events from August 10 to 13 could boost motivation to catch up with neighboring countries.

"Riau Islands is adjacent to Singapore, which is indeed more advanced, so we have to catch up," he said.

He noted that one of the ways to catch up is by improving the quality of broadcasting content, both on television and radio.

He expressed belief that this can be easily achieved since Indonesia has a strong culture. However, he emphasized that efforts are needed to package it into more interesting content. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) apprehended a Vietnamese-flagged boat involved in illegal fishing in the northern waters of the Natuna Sea, Riau Islands, on Friday.

The boat, with hull number BD 97178 TS, was found to be fishing illegally by Bakamla's vessel KN Marore-322, which was patrolling the waters around 09:58 a.m..

"The radar operator reported that the boat did not activate its AIS (automatic identification system)," said Bakamla's public relations officer Yuhanes in a press release received in Tanjungpinang on Sunday.

When KN Marore-322 approached, the fishing boat maneuvered and attempted to flee, he said.

"At 10:58 a.m., our team was able to stop the boat and board it to conduct an inspection of documents, crew, and cargo," said Yuhanes.

The inspection revealed that the boat had 12 crew members and was carrying 5 tons of fish.

Since it did not have fishing permits in Indonesian waters, the boat was escorted to Batam for further investigation. (Antaranews)