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Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki (Humas Kemenkop)

Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki projected that cooperatives and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were still likely to develop in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I see several SMEs adapting and doing business to align with new demands. I am optimistic that MSMEs would always remain flexible and dynamic to tap new business opportunities," Masduki noted in his statement on Tuesday.

The minister pointed to a change in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 emergency and the implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in some areas.

Recorded sales in e-commerce from March 2020 continue to rise to 18 percent.

"This is amazing. The stay-at-home policy encourages the sales of primary necessities, where the food and beverage requirements of the community during the PSBB from MSMEs rose 52.6 percent, while school needs rose 34 percent. The requirement for personal protective equipment, such as masks and hand sanitizers, also grew by 29 percent," Masduki noted.

However, Masduki acknowledged that MSMEs connected with this online market reached only some 13 percent, or around eight million business operators.

In the meantime, the remaining 70 percent are not yet connected since they lack basic infrastructure, including minimal literacy.

The minister called for greater e-commerce penetration, so that MSME products are increasingly sold in the online market and not solely dominated by imported products.

Furthermore, MSMEs not yet connected to the financing system will be able to directly enter the relaxation program. Thus, later on, all SMEs can be connected to the financing system.

Masduki is optimistic that several parties, including the United Indonesia Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Entrepreneurs Committee (KOPITU), would encourage those that never received funding from banks, such as the micro credit (KUR), to be able to obtain funds from the relaxation program or to a savings and loan cooperative.

Activation and expansion of market absorption have also been a program of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs to encourage the improvement of MSMEs, so that they can rise up the ranks.

"This is why we continue to find a solution," Masduki remarked.

Some of these MSMEs do not have shops, and their market is limited to the surrounding areas. Hence, they should be encouraged to take the leap into the online market.

"Being linked to the online market does not necessarily mean that direct sales will increase," Masduki stated.

The minister highlighted that competition in the online market, in terms of the brand and quality, is also a crucial factor. The main area of concern in terms of MSMEs, is that there are too many MSMEs brands for one type of product. For instance, coffee products, chips, bakpia, and so on.

The ministry will also consolidate through Smesco Indonesia that will launch a joint brand scheme.

Furthermore, the production capacity at MSMEs is still low, Hence, if they migrate to an online market having a national and export market, but with limited production capacity, they will lose consumers.

"The MSME consolidation is an important area to focus on," the minister emphasized.

To this end, Masduki highlighted the five steps outlined by the government to tackle such problems: social assistance programs for businesses, tax incentives, financing stimulus, new loans, and SOEs as a buffer for agricultural and fishery products. (ANTARA)

Azwani Awi, chairperson of the Indonesian Association of Tourism Businessmen (ASPPI) of Aceh branch. ANTARA/M Haris SA

The tourism industry in Aceh Province is ready to embrace the new normal amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Azwani Awi, chairperson of the Indonesian Association of Tourism Businessmen (ASPPI) of Aceh branch, stated.

The new normal was to revive Aceh's tourism industry that had collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Awi noted in Banda Aceh on Monday.

"The tourism industry in Aceh is ready to usher in a new normal order. Moreover, tourism destinations in Aceh have implemented a similar pattern to adapt to the new normal," he remarked.

Tourist destinations that have followed the requisite health protocols in the new normal include an urban forest park in Langsa City that reopened since Eid al-Fitr (May 24) after been closed from early March 2020.

To prevent the transmission of COVID-19, the park applies government-set health protocols that necessitate every visitor to wear a mask and maintain a safe distance from one another.

"Of course, every visitor undergoes body temperature screening. During this process, the identity of visitors is checked. Thus, if there is a confirmed COVID-19 case, the patient's travel history can be tracked," he explained.

In addition to the urban forest park, several other tourism destinations are making necessary preparations to reopen in accordance with the new normal scenario. These preparations are a step towards the revival of the tourism sector in Indonesia's westernmost province, he remarked.

"Now, it depends on the policies of the central and regional governments. The tourism industry in Aceh is ready to embrace the new normal as set by the government," Awi noted.

President Joko Widodo examined the readiness of Istiqlal Mosque to apply standard procedures for the new normal.

"This morning I returned to Istiqlal Mosque to review the progress in the massive renovation of Istiqlal Mosque," President Widodo stated at the courtyard of Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on Tuesday.

President Widodo, in a blue mask, toured the mosque and its courtyard in the company of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono and Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar.

"To date, the renovation has reached 90 percent completion. God Willing, renovation will be completed in early July," the president stated.

The head of state acknowledged that the renovation of Istiqlal Mosque did not proceed as expected owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The president noted that the Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque will take the decision on reopening the largest mosque in Indonesia after renovation.

"We have yet to decide on whether to reopen Istiqlal Mosque. Based on information from Istiqlal Mosque’s Grand Imam Prof. Nasaruddin, Istiqlal Mosque is planned to be opened in July. The decision is taken by the grand imam of Istiqlal Mosque," the president remarked.

The president also emphasized the need for Istiqlal Mosque to make requisite preparations to apply health protocols established by the government for the opening of houses of worship during the new normal period.

Places of worship are required to follow 11 rules if they plan to conduct religious activities, with the first being to prepare officers to conduct and oversee the implementation of health protocols at places of worship.

The second rule pertains to conducting periodic cleaning and disinfection of places of worship.

The third rule calls to limit the number of doors and lanes in and out of the places of worship to facilitate the application and supervision of health protocols, while the fourth rule necessitates the provision of handwashing, soap, and hand sanitizer facilities at entry and exit points of places of worship.

The fifth rule entails providing temperature screening tools at the entrances of houses of worship. If the body temperature of a worshiper is found to be higher than 37.5 degrees Celsius after checking twice within a five-minute gap, then entry will not be allowed into the house of worship.

The sixth rule involves applying distance restrictions by applying special markings on the floors and seating arrangements, with a minimum distance of one meter, while the seventh rule calls to make arrangements for the number of worshipers congregating at the same time to ensure adherence to the minimum required distance between them.

The eighth rule necessitates cutting short the time of worship without reducing provisions for fulfilling all worship-related activities.

The ninth rule is to put up an appeal for the application of health protocols in places of worship at locations that are easily visible.

The 10th rule involves making a statement of readiness to apply the prescribed, while the 11th rule calls to implement health protocols specifically for the congregation of guests coming from outside the house of worship. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized that houses of worship, schools, and other economic activities would be reopened though applying strict procedures based on the COVID-19 basic reproduction number (R0) and effective reproduction number (Rt).

The president made the statement in Jakarta on Tuesday after observing the preparedness of Istiqlal Grand Mosque to apply the procedures for a new normal.

"Strict stages of protocols will be applied while reopening houses of worship, facilities for economic activities, and schools on the basis of the reproduction number R0 and Rt," Jokowi stated.

The president affirmed that the reopening of public activities would be based on research data and be conducted in stages.

He highlighted the need for the Istiqlal Mosque management to prepare health protocols to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Renovation is underway at the Istiqlal Mosque since May 2019, and the project is targeted for completion by early July, according to the mosque's Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar.

The work to renovate the largest mosque in Southeast Asia has reached 90-percent completion.

Earlier, the Religious Affairs Ministry had issued new-fangled guidelines for houses of worship that are set to reopen soon.

According to the guidelines, houses of worship may only reopen if the COVID-19 basic reproduction number, R0 or R-naught, as well as the effective reproduction number, Rt, in their respective areas are below a certain threshold.

Houses of worship that plan to reopen must secure a letter from their local COVID-19 task force, confirming that the area is safe from COVID-19.

The circular also requires the implementation of rigorous health procedures, including the deployment of special personnel in charge of monitoring physical distancing and the installation of sanitation facilities at the entrances and exits of all houses of worship.

Children and elderly vulnerable to diseases should be forbidden from praying at houses of worship, according to the circular. (ANTARA)