VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Tensions between  Israel and  Palestine in the West Bank have escalated coinciding with  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Israel. Using military troops, Israel attacked Palestinian settlements in the eastern part of Ramallah on the West Bank, Tuesday, August 25. This aggressive action was carried out on the grounds that Palestinians built housing without permission. Reports say the attack was carried out before sunrise. 200 Palestinians have indeed built settlements in Wadi Al Siq, the East Ramalah area, which is in area C.

In 1995 Palestine and Israel through an agreement in Oslo, Norway agreed that the West Bank is divided into three areas namely Area A, B, and C. The Palestinian Authority controls Area A which covers 18 percent of the territory of the West Bank, Area B which covers about 21 percent is under the Israeli and Palestinian civil security administrations. The remainder is included in Area C, which represents 61 percent of the territory under Israeli control.

Almost simultaneously with the attacks on Palestinians in area C, the Israeli military also bombed militia groups' positions in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army argued that  the reason was because Palestinians had launched incendiary balloons at southern Israeli farms the day before. The bomb attack, which was intended to retaliate for the incendiary balloon launch, was carried out for two consecutive days.

The actions of Israeli military  in both area C and the Gaza strip were carried out in conjunction with the visit of the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. It should be noted, this visit was carried out not long after an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalizing diplomatic relations was signed.

It seems,  that apart from security reasons, the Israeli authorities' aggressive actions by means of their troops may have political aims. To its staunch ally, Israel wants to show its strength and power. Namely by carrying out military attacks, arguing that there were acts of provocation by Palestinians. Israel continues to try to convince the United States, its ally, that its position in the dispute with Palestine is getting stronger. (kbl/art)

President Joko Widodo launched the productive presidential assistance (banpres) program  for micro businesses at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday (24/8). This assistance is aimed at providing additional working capital for micro and small entrepreneurs in Indonesia. The target is that there are 12 million micro and small businesses that will receive the assistance worth Rp 2.4 million. Handing over the assistance symbolically, President Joko Widodo emphasized that the assistance provided is a grant.

The criteria to receive this productive assistance are micro and small businesses, banking customers or financial institutions with deposits below Rp 2 million. Another criterion is that they do not have credit in banks or other financial institutions. For them, this productive program is certainly a refreshing injection, and it is hoped that it can make them stronger in doing their businesses.

Facts reveal that since Covid-19 hit Indonesia, micro and small businesses in Indonesia have become one of the forefronts affected by the impact. Large-Scale Social Restrictions –PSSB causes the income they get to be increasingly limited. Of the approximately 63 million micro and small enterprises, it is estimated that 50 percent would be directly affected. The steps taken by the government are expected to increase the capital of micro and small businesses so that they rise from the impact.

The micro and small entrepreneurs are indeed the first to be saved so that they can revive much strongly to support the Indonesian economy. Lookingback two decades ago, when Indonesia faced economic crises in 1998 and 2008, The micro and small entrepreneurs actually became one of the sectors that supported and contributed to the stability of the Indonesian economy.

The revival of the micro and small entrepreneurs cannot rely only on the government. The involvement of other stakeholders is certainly needed, including e-commerce players or market places. They can provide technical guidance to the micro and small businesses by using technology to market their products. The hope is that their business products can dominate the marketplace to replace imported products. Of course, the most important thing is the business players. They must develop themselves and make innovations to respond to the challenges they are facing.

Hopefully, this productive presidential assistance will be the right vaccine for the micro and small businesses not only to rise from hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but to have a positive impact in the long term. (rhm)

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - Bali Governor Wayan Koster has postponed the reopening of the resort island to foreign tourists, which was planned for September 11, 2020, due to the continued spread of coronavirus infections.

"We have considered this, we are postponing (the reopening of Bali to international tourists) until the situation in Bali and worldwide is conducive," Koster told the press here on Wednesday.

Bali authorities had originally planned to reopen the island for tourism in three phases, starting with the decision to allow local residents to visit tourist sites in the area from July 9. The island was reopened for domestic travelers residing across Indonesia from July 31.

As part of the third phase of reopening, the authorities intended to allow international travelers back on the island from September 11.

The decision to postpone the entry of foreign tourists to the island has been driven by the increased number of COVID-19 cases and public indiscipline in observing the health protocols, Koster informed.

Koster said he has met with representatives of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (IHRA) and asked the association to impose sanctions or revoke the licenses of members who fail to comply with the health protocols.

"The key is that we have to be disciplined and implement the health protocols for an effective handling of COVID-19," he stated.

Koster has issued a gubernatorial regulation (no. 46/2020) on law enforcement on health protocols, urging the public and tourism operators to remain disciplined in the implementation of health protocols.

The government is committed to strengthening social protection and food security, President Joko Widodo stressed while presenting the draft state budget at the DPR-RI Plenary Session for 2020-2021 here on Friday.

“For food security in 2021, around Rp104.2 trillion has been budgeted which will be directed at boosting food commodity production,” President Joko Widodo said.
The President said efforts to encourage food commodity production were carried out by building infrastructure and utilization technology.

In addition, the efforts included the revitalization of the national food system by strengthening farmer and fisherman corporations, food distribution, and development of scale food areas (food estate) to increase food productivity.

The government has also committed to improving the welfare of farmers and fishermen by targeting the Farmer Exchange Rate (NTP) and Fisherman Exchange Rate (NTN) of 102-104 in 2021.

As for the commitment to strengthen social protection, the social protection budget in 2021 of Rp419.3 trillion will be directed at accelerating social recovery and supporting the gradual reform of the social protection system.

Social protection measures are being carried out through the provision of assistance to the community through the family hope program, basic food cards, cash assistance, and pre-employment cards; encouragement of a comprehensive social protection reform program based on the life cycle; and, anticipating the aging population.

They also include improving the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) and improving the mechanism for channeling social protection programs, as well as strengthening monitoring and evaluation.

“Reform of the social protection system is very important in supporting efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in 2024,” the President explained. (ANTARA)