VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan July 9, 2021. Behrouz Mehri/Pool via REUTERS - 

The Tokyo Olympics will provide a model for hosting the Games during a pandemic after rising COVID-19 infections forced organisers to ban spectators at most events, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said on Sunday (Jul 11).

"This will be the first Olympics held during a pandemic, and Tokyo will provide a model for how that is done," Muto said on a political debate programme aired by public broadcaster NHK.

Athletes will not have to compete in completely empty venues because Olympic officials and journalists will be there, he added.

Organisers on Thursday there would be no spectators in host city Tokyo as a resurgent coronavirus forced Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a state of emergency in the capital that will run throughout the Games. Most events outside Tokyo will also take place without spectators.

Speaking on the same programme as Muto, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato and the country's top health adviser, Shigeru Omi, urged people stay home during the games.

"We would ask people to support athletes from home," Kato said//CNA

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah. (ANTARA/Public relations of Manpower Ministry) - 

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah has urged companies to allow workers with comorbidities, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers to work from home (WFH).

“I think this is for the sake and on behalf of humanity to offer them an opportunity to work from home,” Fauziyah remarked in a press statement released here on Saturday.

She also asked workers using public transportation to wear double masks so they can be better protected against new variants of COVID-19, such as Delta.

She then asked employers to consult with the Industry Regional Administration or the local COVID-19 Handling Task Force to clarify their business status as essential, non-essential, or critical without delay.

“This is in order that COVID-19 prevention and handling (efforts) at the companies are aligned with the existing regulations, in particular during the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM),” Fauziyah explained.

She said she has asked companies in Java and Bali to conduct regular COVID-19 tests for workers using the sampling method as part of efforts to stem COVID-19 transmission during the emergency PPKM enforcement.

If the positivity rate reaches 10 percent, work operations should be stopped, she advised. Meanwhile, if the positivity rate is above 5 percent, companies should tighten health protocols, she added.

“If the positivity rate is below five percent, even though it is deemed as normal, the companies should be vigilant and implement health protocols strictly,” she continued.

Meanwhile, system and strategy deputy at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Raditya Jati, observed that most institutions are not fully complying with health protocols, which prescribe wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding crowds, and implementing the work from office (WFO) and work from home (WFH) guidance as regulated.

“So, we need manpower sector’s support to always remind all business players, manpower regional administration, to keep on following the health protocols,” Jati remarked.

Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Arsjad Rasjid, assured his full support to all government programs for tackling COVID-19, adding that the current focus on health handling is very important.

He also requested the government to maintain the operational license of labor-intensive industries.

Even though the economy is slowing, it is better than not growing at all, he remarked. The labor-intensive industry must observe health protocols stringently while operating, he added.

Manpower head at Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Harijanto, concurred with the Kadin chairman and said the government should continue to allow labor-intensive industries to operate and cited two reasons for the request.

First, Apindo will not question the 50-percent reduction in production staff or factory and 10 percent reduction in office staff or office administration services stipulated by the Home Affairs Minister’s Instruction No.18 of 2021, he said.

The statement is aimed at preventing confusion, which might occur among factory employers, due to the emerging interpretation pertaining to the instruction that the 50-percent cap refers to production and not production staff, he emphasized.

“If the production should be reduced by 50 percent, if it should be so, it will not work at all. All factories can go out of business if garment industry, shoe industry, which are labour-intensive industries, stop operating. So, it is impossible if their production should be cut by 50 percent and the government knows it,” he noted.

Second, as labor-intensive exports have been allowed since the beginning, the export industry has committed to deliveries to foreign buyers overseas where the condition has return to normalcy, such as the United States, China, and European countries, he pointed out.

“So, the delivery must go on,” he remarked//ANT

Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah while giving directions during a technical coordination meeting for the implementation of PPKM virtually in Jakarta, Friday (9/7/2021). (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Manpower) - 

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah encouraged labor inspectors and mediators to coordinate with the COVID-19 prevention task force team in overseeing the implementation of emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM), especially for the protection of workers' rights.

Intensive coordination between the head of the Manpower Service at the provincial, district, and city level and other law enforcement officers during the emergency PPKM is believed to create a favorable atmosphere for business continuity.

"We do not want this emergency PPKM to create an atmosphere that is not conducive to business continuity. Hence, intensive coordination with other law enforcement officers is needed," Fauziyah noted in a statement received in Jakarta, Saturday.

Although the Ministry of Manpower has a legal basis for enforcing the implementation of Occupational Safety and Health (K3) in companies, the minister stressed on the importance of coordination with other law enforcement agencies that additionally necessitates the implementation of emergency PPKM.

"This coordination is important, so that the functions of each law enforcement officer can be carried out effectively, while on the other hand, it also does not make the company more pressured by inspection visits that are not well organized," Fauziyah explained.

The minister highlighted another step to be taken by the labor inspector in conducting supervision, specifically the first preventive educational action, in a bid to foster or raise awareness of the prevention and control of COVID-19 at the workplace.

The next step for the labor inspector entails non-justicial repressive measures. This is an effort to comply with the Manpower Law regulations, including emergency PPKM adherence by providing a warning in the form of an inspection note, so that the company conforms to the provisions of laws and regulations, including PPKM, with a certain time limit.

Thereafter, justicial repressive steps entail forced efforts through court institutions to comply with the provisions of the Manpower Law, including the provision of emergency PPKM by conducting an investigation by the labor inspector, as a civil servant investigator (PPNS), the minister explained.

Through these stages, Fauziyah is optimistic that by creating a conducive employment climate, taking preventive educational action, and so on, a favorable atmosphere would be created in the midst of emergency PPKM.

The minister emphasized that the successful implementation of emergency PPKM necessitated commitment from all parties.

Fauziyah noted that the continuity of emergency PPKM relied heavily on the consistency of all parties in implementing this emergency PPKM.

The more inconsistent all parties are in implementing it, the longer the emergency PPKM process will take, the minister cautioned//ANT

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko shed light on several aspects related to the Emergency PPKM implemented by the government in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. ANTARA/HO-KSP. - 

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko invited the public to unite power and strength to find solutions to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement received in Jakarta, Saturday, Moeldoko called on the public to desist from harboring pessimism and steer clear from doubting Indonesia's ability to surmount over the COVID-19 crisis.

"In any case, pessimism will never solve the problem. Pessimism pushes our creative brain into a state of deadlock and sucks out our energy," Moeldoko noted in the statement.

Moeldoko also requested all parties to forego differences and personal interests and instead contemplate on matters that can contribute to the nation’s progress.

"The government is not anti-criticism, but for now, let us join the criticism with solutions. Help us think and help us save society. Let us move together for recovery together," he emphasized.

In order to reduce the rate of transmission of the COVID-19 virus in the community, President Joko Widodo on Thursday (July 1) announced the policy of Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) to be implemented in 122 regencies and cities in Java and Bali during the period from July 3 to July 20.

During the implementation of Emergency PPKM, community activities in the employment, education, transportation, tourism, and other sectors will be limited.

The government will also impose sanctions on violators of the Emergency PPKM regulations in accordance with the Communicable Disease Outbreak Law and the Health Quarantine Act.

“Emergency PPKM is one of the government's scenarios to suppress the spread. The mobility of people without symptoms (OTG) can be controlled, as those with OTG status are the ones who pose a danger in spreading the virus,” Moeldoko cautioned.

Moeldoko highlighted the government’s endeavors to handle the pandemic from all fronts, in terms of budget reallocation, providing additional beds for patients, supplying oxygen, making efforts to accelerate vaccines, and taking decisive action against violators of Emergency PPKM as well as drug and oxygen hoarders.

Moeldoko admitted to the implementation of PPKM being replete with challenges. Based on the government’s monitoring, the level of community mobility during the Emergency PPKM period had only declined by 30 percent.

Meanwhile, Emergency PPKM will only be deemed as successful if it is able to reduce mobility by 50 percent.

"Hence, the government will continue to stringently apply the Emergency PPKM until July 20," Moeldoko stated.

Moeldoko emphasized that public compliance is the key to recovery from the pandemic.

He invited the public to strictly adhere to the Emergency PPKM.

Moeldoko noted that the government's policy to pull the emergency brake will have an impact on the economy of the community, but it is a difficult choice to be made for the sake of community safety and mutual recovery.

"Indonesia is recovering because of me, Indonesia is recovering because of you, and Indonesia is recovering because of us," Moeldoko affirmed//ANT