VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (central) accompanied by Director General of Chemical, Pharmacy and Textile (IKFT) Muhammad Khayam (left) and Director General of Resilience and Development of International Industrial Access (KPAII) Dody Widodo (2nd left) pay attention to the clothes of PT Daehan Global production in Brebes, Friday (May 29). (ANTARA/ Ministry of Industry PR Bureau)

The industry ministry is actively coordinating with local governments to monitor activities in the sector to keep the economy afloat whilst companies continue to abide by health protocols set amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Local governments play an important role in the prevention and control of COVID-19, including those around industrial companies or industrial areas," Director General of Resilience and Development of International Industrial Access (KPAII) of the Ministry, Dody Widodo, noted in a statement received by Antara News Agency in Jakarta, Monday.

Widodo highlighted the manufacturing sector’s preparedness to usher in a new normal era and move to facilitate national economic recovery. He added that the manufacturing sector had become one of the key economic growth drivers.

The Ministry of Industry pointed to the industrial sector still being the biggest contributor to the national gross domestic product (GDP), reaching 19.98 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, related companies or industrial zones were required to obtain an Operational and Industrial Activity Mobility Permit (IOMKI) in order to operate. The procedure of operations was stipulated in Industry Ministry’s Circular No. 7 of 2020.

Widodo further noted that the Ministry of Industry had continued to coordinate with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the industrial sector can run in line with the application of health protocols. This collaboration encompasses ones with local governments.

"Some of the roles of regional governments include creation of a task force on supervision of permits for operational activities of industrial estates and tenants," he revealed.

To this end, every permit holder must have in place a COVID-19 prevention procedure and report on its implementation through the National Information and Industry System (SIINas) every weekend.

Furthermore, a monitoring team was formed for handling the permit implementation process as stipulated in Minister of Industry's Decree Number 649 of 2020. The monitoring team is tasked with coordinating with the local governments, verifying permit data and information, as well as reporting on the implementation measures.

Moreover, they are responsible for monitoring the implementation of IOMKI permits directly on field or electronically. They can also recommend the revocation of IOMKI to the Minister of Industry and assess the results of the implementation of IOMKI based on their monitoring results.

"The local government will support efforts to restore industrial activities during the current COVID-19 pandemic, and the Ministry of Industry will continue to coordinate with related parties pertaining to these efforts, including raising awareness on health protocols during the recovery period of industrial activities," he affirmed. (ANTARA)

Indonesian Home Minister Tito Karnavian held a meeting with South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Chang-Beom to learn about the success of holding elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tito Karnavian said in Jakarta on Monday that South Korea had successfully held its legislative elections even though it was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Tito, the national legislative elections in South Korea took place on April 15, but the stages had begun from January at the peak of the pandemic in Korea. But South Korea was able to register the highest voter turnout since the 1992 elections, which amounted to 96.6 percent. Meanwhile Ambassador Kim Chang-Beom expressed his hope that the 2020 Regional Election in Indonesia will be a success even in the midst of a pandemic. (trans/ANTARA)

Lobster seeds release activity. (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries released 43 thousand lobster seeds seized from foiled smuggling attempts into their natural habitat in the waters of Liwungan Island in Pandeglang, Banten.

Head of the Serang Coastal and Marine Resource Management, Syarif Iwan Taruna Alkadrie, noted in a statement received in Jakarta, Monday, that the activity was part of the implementation of the Maritime and Fisheries Ministerial Regulation Number 12 / PERMEN-KP / 2020 on Lobster and Crab Management in the Indonesian Territory.

"According to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister’s Regulation, the Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management, through the Technical Management Unit, is assigned to determine the location and procedures for releasing lobsters," he remarked.

Alkadrie further expounded that Banten's Liwungan Island was selected as the location to release lobster seeds after taking into account the basic ecological and geographical conditions of the waters that have rocky and sandy habitats.

"Important criteria encompass selection of coral reef substrate in addition to being a place to find food as well as to protect lobster seeds from predator attacks," he expounded.

Alkadrie further pointed out that in 2020, the ministry had at least thrice released lobster seeds in Pandeglang.

Some 36,800 lobsters were earlier released into the waters of Labuan Bay on May 1, and 9,200 lobsters were released in the Labuan waters on April 22.

"This release is the largest in number in our work area. Hopefully, the efforts made would ensure the preservation of lobster resources and proffer benefits for the prosperity of the community, especially of farmers and fishermen," he added. (ANTARA)

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Bambang Soesatyo has called upon the police to conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged ill-treatment of an Indonesian crew working on a Chinese fishing vessel.

The two Indonesians managed to flee by jumping into the sea to avoid further physical abuse aboard the ship.

"The police should conduct an investigation of the alleged abuse of Indonesian crew members on the Chinese ship, and along with the Foreign Affairs Ministry file a lawsuit if there is evidence of abuse," Soesatyo, popularly known as Bamsoet, said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.

The police, he continued, should summon the manning agent that recruited the two sailors. The agent could be charged with possible fraud since the two crewmen, based upon their work contracts, were to be sent to textile and steel plants in South Korea and paid Rp25 million to Rp40 million per month.

"There is an indication of illegal recruitment of sailors, hence the agent must be held accountable for the case," he said.

The government must improve the monitoring of Indonesian migrant workers and be more selective in issuing working permits for Indonesians recruited as migrant workers. The government should take serious measures against irresponsible recruitment agencies.

Furthermore, he warned all Indonesians not to be easily persuaded by invitations to become migrant workers offering tempting wages.

People should carefully check an agency's legality, he said.

The two Indonesian sailors, Reynalfi (22) and Andri Juniansyah (30), who worked on the Chinese-flagged ship Fu Lu Qing Yuan Yu, jumped into the sea when the ship entered Indonesian territory in the Malacca Strait on Friday (June 5) night.

They were saved by fishermen in the Karimun Anak Island waters in Riau Islands Province on Saturday (June 6) after drifting at sea for almost seven hours.

The two Indonesians claimed they had been abused while working aboard the Chinese ship. (ANTARA)