VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Communications and Information Technology Minister Johnny G. Plate during a coordination meeting in Manokwari, West Papua, on Wednesday, October 6. (kominfo.go.id) - 

Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate affirmed that strict punishment will be meted out to those found violating the COVID-19 quarantine regulations.

"Strict sanctions will definitely be imposed on those who violate it," he noted in an official statement as quoted on Saturday.

The minister reminded that the pandemic was far from over and pressed for everyone to continue to comply with all COVID-19 regulations, including quarantine for all international travelers, in order to ensure safety of the people around and the community at large.

Plate believes that taking care of each other is only one key to surviving and surmounting the pandemic.

"Let us implement the existing health protocols and regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulations that have been set up were subject to a series of studies to ensure that the entire community is protected," he noted.

Quarantine regulations for international travelers are laid out in the Circular of the COVID-19 Task Force No. 20 of 2021.

According to the circular, international travelers entering Indonesia must undergo quarantine, so they did not fall sick or infect other people.

"Moreover, there are currently many threats of the entry of a new variant of the coronavirus," Plate noted.

The government imposed sanctions on international travelers found violating quarantine regulations, as it is stipulated in article 14 of the Infectious Disease Outbreak Act and article 93 of the Health Quarantine Act.

The imposition of health quarantine rules is supervised by the Integrated Joint Task Force comprising the national defense force, police force, ministries, related institutions, and volunteers that are led by the National Defense Force's Operational Commander, under the control of the Commander in Chief of the Joint Defense Area Command.

"Let us supervise the rules that have been set, together. All the rules are intended solely to protect the health and safety of the general public," the minister affirmed.

The government still needs the public to participate in monitoring the implementation of regulations on international travelers, who will enter Indonesia//ANT

An aerial image of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway tunnel no. 8 in Purwakarta, West Java, on Tuesday (May 15, 2021). (ANTARA Jabar/M Ibnu Chazar/agr) - 

Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway operator PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (PT KCIC) has confirmed construction of the railway is 79 percent complete and efforts will be made to complete and operationalize it by 2022 end.

PT KCIC corporate secretary Mirza Soraya informed that the company and the construction contractor are currently focusing on expediting construction at 237 points, with priority placed on completing three of the total 13 tunnels on the railway's route.

The three tunnels are the 1,040-meter tunnel no. 2 in Jatiluhur, the 1,315-m tunnel no. 4 in Plered, both in Purwakarta district, and the 4,478-m tunnel no. 6 in Cikalong Wetan, West Bandung district, he revealed.

Additionally, sub-grade works at three points at Karawang district-Purwakarta district border and completion of three railway stations in East Jakarta, Karawang, and Tegalluar have been expedited as well, Soraya informed.

"The construction of three railway stations at East Jakarta, Karawang, and Tegalluar has been expedited for completion at the operational date target at the end of 2022," the corporate secretary said.

The railway's electric multiple units -- train carriages -- and inspection trains are currently under construction at the CRRC Sifang factory warehouse in Qingdao, China, he added.

Soraya said that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly hindered the construction progress of the high-speed railway.

"The pandemic posed a significant challenge to the construction progress, hence we are currently focused on expediting the construction process," he added.

Meanwhile, PT KCIC is currently coordinating with governmental ministries to deliberate and harmonize the Transportation Minister's regulation, while internal staff training and SOP (standard operating procedures) drafting are underway, Soraya added.

The 142.3-km railway connecting Jakarta and West Java capital Bandung is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The railway route traverses nine cities and districts in Jakarta and West Java.

There are five stations planned on the high-speed railway's route: Halim Station, close to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta, and three stations in West Java (Karawang, Padalarang, and Tegalluar stations)//ANT

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir (right) in Prosperous Program in Muara Putih village, Natar sub-district, South Lampung on Saturday (October 16, 2021). (ANTARA PHOTOS/Aji Cakti/my) - 

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has assured that Lampung farmers will receive assistance under Pupuk Indonesia's Prosperity (Makmur) program and benefit from it.

The Makmur program will be very beneficial for Indonesian farmers, the minister said. The program will connect farmers with project leaders, insurance providers, financial institutions, agricultural technology, local governments, agro-inputs, and even non-subsidized fertilizers' guarantee, he expounded.

"This Prosperity Program, us State-Owned Enterprises's main focus lie in 40 thousand hectares for 28 thousand farmers. If this is the way, we will expedite it. Here Himbara (State-Owned Banks Association) is present; BNI (PT Bank Negara Indonesia ), BRI (Bank Rakyat Indonesia), Mandiri, for financing. Then PT Pupuk Indonesia provides assistance, gentlemen and RNI (PT Rajawalli Nusantara Indonesia) buy so that all of this becomes a healthy ecosystem," Thohir said in Muara Putih village, South Lampung district, Lampung province on Saturday.

According to the minister, farmers who participate in the Makmur program will receive assistance that will have a positive impact on agricultural productivity and income. The program is a collaboration of state-owned enterprises, he added.

Meanwhile, State-Owned Enterprises Ministerial Staff Arya Sinulingga said that the Makmur program will help farmers significantly. He then cited the example of the Agro Solution program offered by PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero).

"Through this program, seeds will be found, fertilizer would be given, then there would be training and guidance and buyers would also be found," he said.

This program is aimed at building an ecosystem to help farmers, he added. Moreover, from this program, farmers could get good funding and fertilizers and increase productivity by 20-30 percent, he continued.

Sinulingga said he expected farmers' incomes to increase after participating in the Pupuk Indonesia program.

"If the price is good, the farmers will be more prosperous and better off," he said. He then expressed the hope that the program would reach its target of 4 million hectares in the future, as envisaged by the minister//ANT

A Balinese woman uses a traditional way to make woven cloth in Tenganan, Karangasem, Bali, (24/9/2021). ANTARA/Naufal Fikri Yusuf ((Foto Antara News Bali/) - 

This year's National Batik Day seems to be more special, with Balinese woven fabrics, such as endek, making a comeback as clothing for daily wear.

Celebrated every October 2, National Batik Day marks the date when batik was enlisted by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage back in 2009.

To celebrate the day, the Bali provincial government released a circular letter suggesting the use of clothing made of endek or other traditional fabrics.

Such appeal, which mirrors the obligation of Balinese people to wear endek clothing every Tuesday, starting from February 23 this year, further adds a dash of color to the scenic tourist destination island.

"The government and Balinese people must take sides and be committed to local resources by playing an active role in preserving, protecting, and empowering Balinese endek woven fabrics," Bali Governor I Wayan Koster stated.

Endek is a woven cloth originating from Bali. The name comes from the word "gendekan"or "ngendek" that means silent or fixed, or not changing color.

Endek hand-weaving activities can be found in several areas of Bali, such as Karangasem, Klungkung, Gianyar, Buleleng, Jembrana, and Denpasar.

The tradition has been followed since the 16th century during the reign of King Dalem Waturenggong of Gelgel in Klungkung, Bali.

Not only endek, National Batik Day is also enlivened by the presence of Balinese ikat cloth selected by the Indonesian government to be presented to world leaders at the G20 meeting next year.

Bali will host the G20 meetings in 2022 during Indonesia’s presidency of the group.

To this end, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno specifically ordered 120 ikat fabrics from craftsmen in Karangasem, Bali.

“This fabric is legendary and iconic, so I want to promote it. Hopefully, this order would cheer up the weavers as well as help the craftsmen here," Sandiaga affirmed.

Efforts made by the minister to promote traditional fabrics, such as endek and ikat, are aimed at reviving sluggish economic activities owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, craftsmen have expressed their concern over the decline in sales turnover due to the hit to the tourism sector, which has been the backbone of Bali’s economic growth.

In addition to helping restore the local economy battered by the pandemic, Sandiaga is optimistic that the order of woven traditional fabrics from Tenganan Village in Karangasem would also create jobs for the people there.

"Some 400 people are working on this order for 120 woven fabrics. It means there are 400 open job opportunities and hopefully can also generate more tourist visits to Tenganan Village," Sandiaga noted.

He also plans to invite guests and delegates attending the G20 meetings to visit the Tenganan Pegringsingan Tourism Village.

Located in Karangasem Regency, Tenganan is one of the three Bali Aga villages that still maintain a lifestyle, with a community system referring to the traditional rules of village customs inherited from their ancestors.

The people of Tenganan Village wear a woven cloth gringsing made for special ceremonies.

Gringsing is the only traditional Indonesian woven fabric that is made using a double-weaving technique. The process can take about two to five years.

Gringsing comes from the word "gring" that means sick while "sing" means not and when combined together translates to "no pain".

The connotation of the word is akin to repellent reinforcements. In Bali, various ceremonies, such as tooth-cutting ceremonies, weddings, and other religious ceremonies, are performed, with the gringsing cloth playing an indispensable role.

However, Urs Ramseyer in an article titled "Clothing, Ritual and Society in Tenganan Pegeringsingan Bali" in 1984 conjectured that gringsing was not originally from Tenganan, Bali, as the Tenganan people, as fellow followers of Indra, are immigrants from ancient India.

He believes the double-weaving technique used to make gringsing fabric came via cruise from Orrisa or Andhra Pradesh.
The other alternative is that the immigrants learnt how to make gringsing fabric by deciphering excerpts from several types of patola weaving, originally from Gujarat, India, which also use double weaving technique.

Regardless of the doubts, the Tenganan people are said to have inherited some 20 patterns of gringsing weaving.

However, until 2010, only about 14 of them are still being preserved. One of them, known as lubeng, has a pattern of scorpion that is usually used in religious ceremonies.

Other patterns are sanan empeg, characterized by three red-black square patterns; cempakaan, typified by the cempaka flowers pattern and worn in religious ceremonies; and cemplong, characterized by large flowers between a pattern of small flowers to appear as though there is a void between the flowers.

Gringsing also has various other patterns, such as wayang, only comprising two colors with black as a background and relatively smooth white lines to form a puppet figure and batun tuung, characterized by eggplant seeds and used as a shawl for women or body belt for men.

Other ancient patterns of gringsing cloth that are still known are teteledan, enjekan siap, pepare, gegonggangan, sitan pegat, dinding ai, dinding sigading, and talidandan.

The colors and uniqueness of ikat woven designs began to change as compared to the patterns of ancient fabrics that are partially stored in museums in Europe, such as the Basel Museum in Switzerland.

In 1972, a group of researchers from the Fur Volkerkunde Museum, Basel, brought photographs of Gringsing cloth, some of which were no longer found in Tenganan Village.

The photos were then studied and remade by the people of Tenganan to preserve the ancient patterns of gringsing cloth//ANT