VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Malaysia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin Abdullah (left) and Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on October 18, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) - 

Indonesia and Malaysia will start planning for a travel corridor amid COVID-19, said the foreign ministers of both countries during a joint press conference on Monday (Oct 18). 

In a virtual press briefing, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi noted that from January to August this year, the trade value between both countries was US$13 billion.

This is an increase of 44 per cent compared to the same period last year when it was US$9 billion.

“To maintain this momentum and accelerate the economic recovery of the two countries, we view it as important to facilitate the safe mobility of business people.

“For this reason, we have agreed to push for a Travel Corridor Arrangement (TCA) agreement for essential business people from both countries and we will discuss this as one of the preparations for the visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister,” said Mdm Marsudi.

She added that it will complement the implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework (ATCAF) which would soon be implemented.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah is on a four-day official visit to Jakarta, his first visit to the Indonesian capital after being reappointed as foreign minister on Aug 30.

On his part, Mr Saifuddin said during the press conference that thorough planning is needed before opening the travel lane. 

“I suggested that there may be several phases. Perhaps phase one, phase two, and this depends on the sectors or things that should come first. The next one is the less important one, but maybe in the second phase,” he said.

Mr Saifuddin said that for example, official visits should be prioritised. Another alternative, he suggested, is to facilitate travelling only between certain points, while opening up gradually.

Mr Saifuddin also said that both sides could consider measures such as a reciprocal green lane, travel corridor arrangement and a vaccinated travel lane. The details would follow later. 

“Hopefully, despite (being) in a new normal, business opportunities and then other sectors would follow such as education, tourism and so on,” he said. 

The Malaysian minister also said that both sides have agreed to work towards the mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

He noted that both countries have an application to track COVID-19 vaccination status, namely MySejahtera in Malaysia and PeduliLindungi in Indonesia. He said that these could be used as a basis for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates. 

Mdm Marsudi added that both governments have agreed that vaccines that have been granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO) should be treated equally and there must be no discrimination against certain types of vaccines.

Both foreign ministers also touched on regional developments, including the situation in Myanmar.

They noted that there has been no significant development in the implementation of the ASEAN Leaders’ Five-Point Consensus which was agreed in Jakarta six months ago. 

Last Friday, the foreign ministers of ASEAN agreed to only invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to a series of the group’s summits at the end of the month.

Mdm Marsudi said on Monday: “I think this decision is the right decision.”

However, she asserted that it will not stop ASEAN’s commitment to offer aid, including humanitarian aid.

“The people of Myanmar have the right and deserve peace and prosperity. The safety and wellbeing of the people of Myanmar will continue to be Indonesia's priority,” she stated.

Mr Saifuddin also expressed disappointment with the situation in Myanmar.

The ASEAN leaders had agreed on the Five-Point Consensus but the grouping’s special envoy (Brunei‘s Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof) was not allowed to carry out his duty, he said on Monday.

“On Oct 15, in addition to one or two other countries, as ASEAN, we (Malaysia and Indonesia) were quite vocal in our views, but at the same time, we still uphold the ASEAN charter and don't just look at one angle but from various angles.”

Other topics discussed during the bilateral meeting included the situation in Afghanistan, the protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, as well as cultural diplomacy. 

Mr Saifuddin is scheduled to call on President Joko Widodo later on Monday. He will also meet with ASEAN officials as well as Malaysian students and diaspora during his trip//CNA

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin at the coordination meeting to end extreme poverty in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), October 17, 2021. (ANTARA/HO-Setwapres/rst) - 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin called on the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial government to develop programs that bolster production in the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors in order to reduce extreme poverty.

"Various programs are able to increase production in the agricultural, livestock, and fishery sectors. These programs are very supportive to end extreme poverty," Vice President Amin noted in a statement received on Monday from the Press, Media, and Information Bureau of the Vice President's Secretariat.

Vice President Amin made the statement while chairing a coordination meeting to discuss extreme poverty reduction with the ranks of the NTT provincial government in Kupang on October 17.

East Sumba, South Central Timor, Rote Ndao, Central Sumba, and East Manggarai are the five districts in NTT Province that are being prioritized for tackling extreme poverty until the end of 2021.

At the meeting, Amin called on the NTT provincial government and the five priority districts to ensure that all extreme poverty reduction programs of the central government can be targeted on point to the beneficiary community (KPM).

"Our biggest challenge is how to ensure that all programs from the central, provincial, and district governments can be accepted by the extremely poor households in the five priority districts," he informed.

To accelerate the target of solving extreme poverty in the five districts by 2021, the vice president spoke of the government having provided an additional budget for social assistance programs for the poor community.

"To this end, in the last three months of 2021, the government will bolster designated efforts using existing programs, such as the Sembako Program and Cash Assistance Program (BLT)," he added//ANT

Illustration - PLN officers increase the electricity capacity system at the Mandalika Circuit area, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. (ANTARA/HO-PLN/rst) - 

State-owned electricity company (PLN) has ensured a reliable electrical system during the race at the Mandalika Circuit, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), through zero downtime, or no blackouts even for a second.

PLN Regional Business Director for Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, and Nusa Tenggara, Syamsul Huda affirmed that the zero downtime-layered electricity system at the Mandalika Circuit will be supplied from three main lines, with a power of 5.19 MVA.

"PLN has prepared a zero downtime scenario, especially for the 2021 World Superbike and MotoGP that will be held in 2022," Huda noted in a statement quoted on Monday.

In addition to the three electricity lines that are currently ready to operate, PLN has prepared a device in the form of an uninterruptible power supply that is currently in the process of realizing zero downtime.

Huda remarked that the electricity scheme is the company's commitment to providing the best service to support the World Superbike and MotoGP events to run safely and smoothly.

Earlier, PLN had completed all physical work for the electricity infrastructure of the Mandalika Circuit at the end of August 2021 and then conducted a commissioning test in September 2021.

The commissioning test is the final stage of the entire preparation series for PLN to electrify the Mandalika Circuit. The company tests all aspects of the components or equipment that are built, comprising durability, equipment functions, and others.

In terms of power adequacy, Lombok's electrical system that will supply power to the Mandalika Circuit is currently in a safe condition. The average peak load reaches 270 megawatts, with an available power capacity of 376.8 megawatts.

A power reserve of 106 megawatts is sufficient to meet the electricity requirements in West Nusa Tenggara, including for the World Superbike and MotoGP, Huda stated.

The government had earlier decided that the World Superbike will be held in November.

Three series of events will be held at the Mandalika Circuit: the Asia Talent Cup on November 13-14, 2021, World Superbike on November 19-21, 2021, and preparations for next year's MotoGP.

The government has decided to allow 25 thousand spectators that have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the government necessitates all race participants to undergo a five-day quarantine before the event//ANT

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin at the coordination meeting to end extreme poverty at the NTT Governor's office, Sunday, October 17, 2021. (ANTARA/HO-Setwapres/rst) - 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin urged the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial government to act promptly to handle extreme poverty by implementing contextual and applicable programs for the affected community.

"I want the local government to implement a contextual program, which means the program will be right on target or proffer actual benefits to the community," Vice President Amin noted in a statement issued by  the Press, Media and Information Bureau of the Vice President's Secretariat on Monday.

The instruction was delivered directly by Amin while chairing a coordination meeting related to extreme poverty reduction with the NTT provincial government at the NTT Governor's Office on October 17.

Amin noted that implementation of the extreme poverty reduction program, as determined by the central government, must prioritize the affected community, so that the benefits are truly felt by people of NTT from the extremely poor category.

NTT is one of the seven provinces, with a total of 35 districts, whose extreme poverty rate will be addressed by the government in a bid to reach zero percent by the end of 2021.

The province's five districts of East Sumba, South Central Timor, Rote Ndao, Central Sumba, and East Manggarai are included in the priority agenda for tackling extreme poverty.

Meanwhile, NTT Governor, Viktor Laiskodat, remarked that NTT was the third-poorest province in Indonesia. However, of the five districts, Viktor noted that East Manggarai should not be included in the district, with the most extreme poor people.

"East Manggarai is a very fertile area, and indeed, the main problem is infrastructure. I do not have concrete data for including East Manggarai in the category of poor district," Laiskodat stated.

To this end, Laiskodat noted that the NTT provincial government will continue to encourage the local government to prioritize solving the problem of extreme poverty by optimally implementing contextual programs.

"Now, we are pushing through programs, both at the provincial and district level," he added//ANT