VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

As a large country, Indonesia is actually blessed with vast land wealth, but its distribution is uneven. This phenomenon has become a special concern for President Joko Widodo.

"We have land in 17 thousand islands. But indeed the distribution process is often complained by the community," he said when opening the National Consultation on the Implementation of Agrarian Reform and Social Forestry for Social Justice and the 2018 Global Land Forum at the State Palace on Thursday , September 20, 2018.

Inequitable land management and distribution was asked and addressed to President Joko Widodo. However, once again he confirmed that the distribution was not carried out by him.

"Many protested to me, 'How come you can get the big ones?' "I answer, for whom? I am not the one who distributed' he said. 

However, the government is committed to structuring the distribution of land in the country through its policies. The policies include agaria reform, acceleration of the issuance of community land title certificates, and social forestry.

"This is what we want to conclude so that the name agrarian reform, certificate sharing, and social forestry can really work well so that the land tenure structure in the country is truly fair," said the President.

Especially for the issuance of certificates for the people, in the last two years the government has tried to accelerate the issuance of certificates for millions of of land whose ownership has not been recognized. For this year, 7 million land field certificates are targeted to be issued from the usual one which is only around 500 thousand certificates per year. (biro pers)

Urbanization would bring positive impact to the country`s economy if it could be well-managed, Indonesia`s Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro said.

"Urbanization would bring positive impact if we handle it properly. First, we should provide basic services; second, basic infrastructure, sanitation, drinking water, housing; and third, we should improve public transportation," Brodjonegoro stated in Jakarta on Thursday.

By 2045, Indonesia`s population is projected to reach 318.9 million, of which 67.1 percent are in urban areas. Urbanization that is poorly managed would lead to zero growth, he noted.

"We should manage urbanization with the three agendas, and then we could take more benefit of the urbanization," he added.

The country`s population in 2045 is projected to increase 24.7 percent, or 63.4 million, compared to those in 2015, which is twice the population in Malaysia and thrice higher than Australia. By 2045, work forces are projected to reach 206 million, and the elderly population of above 60 years old would reach 44.9 million.

However, Brodjonegoro remarked that Indonesia has an imbalance growth and distribution of population. Most of the population, or some 59 percent, are living in Java Island and 21 percent in Sumatra Island, both in the western part of Indonesia. Java has become the most populated island with more metropolitan areas compared to other islands in Indonesia.

It would be important for Indonesia to diffuse the growth to other major islands and to balance and reduce inter-regional inequality, he remarked. Therefore, new metropolitan area should be developed outside Java Island, the minister noted. In 2015, metropolitan areas have contributed to more than one third of the national gross domestic product (GDP).

Rapid urbanization in Indonesia during the period of 1996 to 2016 has led to economic growth, but the rate was not as fast as those in China and other East Asia and Pacific (EAP) countries. For each one percent of population growth in urban areas in China and EAP countries, it led to a growth of 3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, in income per capita per year. In Indonesia, the growth of income per capita was only recorded at 1.4 percent per year. (ant) 

The Coalition of Indonesian Civil Society Organizations urged the government to utilize Indonesia`s position as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to help put an end to the humanitarian crisis against Rohingya people in Myanmar. The statement was made by Fatia Maulidiyanti from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reported at least 319 villages to have been destroyed by the Myanmar army. The report also confirms the attacks, extrajudicial killings, deprivation of arbitrary freedom, enforced disappearances, destruction of property and looting, torture and inhumane treatment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence against the Rohingya people. The attacks have forcibly evicted more than 700 thousand Rohingyas from Myanmar. Still according to the report, it was determined that the Myanmar government was responsible for the act of violence committed by non-state armed groups against civilians.

In its own stance, KontraS sees that the Myanmar government, which should be responsible for handling this crisis, acts defensively and fortifies itself with the principle of non-intervention and state sovereignty to avoid international pressure. For this reason, the Coalition of Indonesian Civil Society Organizations called on the government of Indonesia to be more proactive in playing a role as the non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2019-2020 period to help resolve the humanitarian disasters. It is based on the UN`s proposition to conduct humanitarian intervention, namely the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP), so that it can act to stop cruel military operations in Myanmar and seek accountability for all violations that have occurred.

"We emphasize the importance of upholding the `responsibility to protect` in the UN Charter. The state is obliged and responsible for protecting its citizens. If the state is considered to have failed in protecting its citizens, the international community has the right to intervene," Maulidiyanti noted.

In the recommendation of the UN Fact-Finding Mission report on Myanmar, it was stated that the UNSC must ensure accountability for crimes under international law carried out in Myanmar. It would be even better if the crimes against humanity could be referred to the International Criminal Court or alternatively by creating an ad hoc International Criminal Court. For this reason, Amnesty International Indonesia advised the government of Indonesia to use its position in the UNSC to recommend the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"Since Myanmar is not a member of the ICC, the only way to try them is to recommend the humanitarian disaster situation in Myanmar to the Security Council and immediately make a resolution. We can consider applying other pressures, such as the imposition of an economic embargo," Papang Hidayat, Amnesty International Indonesia senior researcher, remarked.

The Coalition of Indonesian Civil Society Organizations consists of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Amnesty International Indonesia, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Yayasan Perlindungan Insani Indonesia (Protection Desk Indonesia), Asia Justice and Rights, as well as Forum Asia. (ant)

 President Joko Widodo laid emphasis Jakarta on Wednesday that 50 percent of the receipts from cigarette excise must be directed for health services.

"We have issued the presidential regulation for it," the president noted at the State Palace while referring to the mandate of the law.

He said the law had mandated that 50 percent of the cigarette excise must be used for services linked to health.

"BPJS Kesehatan (health insurance) suffered a deficit that must be covered. Public health service, no matter how much, must be given as best as it could, so the deficit must be covered partly from the cigarette excise," he stated.

Widodo said he had ordered the development and financial comptroller BPKP to check the financial condition of BPJS Kesehatan.

"This is procedure. Accountability must be ensured," he noted.

Widodo said he had also ordered the president director and board of directors of BPJS Kesehatan to improve all its systems, including the verification of claims.

"BPJS Kesehatan covers central to district and city levels across the country. It is not easy controlling and monitoring claims from hospitals. It is not easy," he emphasized.

In view of its coverage, BPJS Kesehatan must continue to improve its system, so that it is more efficient.

"I have experienced it all. In Jakarta, we have the Jakarta Health Card. Controlling hospitals is not easy, and this covers the entire country. It means the system must constantly be improved," he stated.

In response to the question of whether income of regions will decline if 50 percent of the cigarette excise would be used to pay BPJS Kesehatan, the president noted that it was the mandate of the law.

"It will be the regions that will also enjoy it, as the service is not at the central level only," he noted, adding that the regions had also approved it.

Deputy Finance Minister Mardiasmo stated that his office will apply several scenarios to control deficit in BPJS Kesehatan by increasing the role of regional governments. (ant)