VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A biogas-fueled power plant at Kasikan village Kampar district, Riau. (ANTARA FOTO/Rony Muharrman/nz) - 

The Indonesian government is encouraging the conversion of biogas into bio-compressed natural gas (CNG) for use as a primary energy substitute for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a senior official has said.

"Bio-CNG involves the purification of biogas by separating carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon tetraoxide (CO4) and scrapping other imperitic gas components to produce methane having content above 95 percent," director of bioenergy at the Mineral Resources and Energy Ministry, Andriah Feby Misna, said in a written statement released on Friday.

Before it is purified, biogas contains around 60 percent of methane as fuel, while the rest are compounds in the form of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and hydrogen sulfide, she informed.

Its purification to bio-CNG can maximize the methane content to 95 percent and lower carbon dioxide content, she explained.

Biomethane can be developed on a commercial scale as a non-electricity fuel for the transportation sector and as an energy substitute for the LPG used in industry, she said.

"The benefit is quite significant since Indonesia still imports LPG in large quantities. The sources of raw materials for the production of bio-CNG vary," she noted.

Palm oil waste could serve as raw material for biogas and biomethane generation, she added//ANT

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas attending a hearing meeting with Commission VIII of the House of Representatives. (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of  Religious Affairs) - 

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has asked Indonesians to temporarily worship in their homes to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

"The daily number of positive COVID-19 cases is still increasing. For the time being, let us reduce mobility, be patient, and stay at home. For the time being, we will carry out worship at home," he said in a press release issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Jakarta on Friday.

Houses of worship in emergency community activity restrictions (PPKM) zones and high (red) and medium (orange) COVID-19 transmission risk zones need to be temporarily closed to prevent crowding, which can increase the risk of coronavirus spread, Qoumas explained.

"Public worship activities in the emergency PPKM zone as well as the red and orange zones outside the emergency PPKM (zone) will continue to be carried out at home," he said.

The minister asked citizens to comply with government regulations that are aimed at suppressing the transmission of COVID-19.

"Let us work from home and worship from home. Limiting mobility out of the house is part of a joint effort to break the chain of spread of COVID-19," he urged.

The government has implemented emergency PPKM in Java and Bali regions from July 3 to July 20, 2021.

The minister invited the public to take advantage of the emergency PPKM period to increase worship.

"Let us make our homes a paradise, a comfortable place to share our feelings as well as become an effective mental education medium for a generation that has quality and character," he said.

Earlier, Coordinating Economic Affairs Ministry's special staff, Raden Pardede, had informed that at least 47.7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered to Indonesians by July 6, 2021, with daily vaccinations targeted to be increased to 1-2 million in August.

“In the attempts to stem the transmission of COVID-19 and to achieve herd immunity, we continue to accelerate vaccinations that touched one million and even 1.5 million on July 1 (2021). We have set the target of two million daily doses,” Pardede said during an online discussion here on Wednesday.

The government is striving to expedite the immunization program to achieve the target of 1-1.5 million daily vaccinations by the end of July this year, whilst maintaining to secure vaccine supplies, he noted.

According to the vaccination roadmap, the government is targeting 1.5 million daily vaccinations by July, 1.5 million by August, 1.8 million by September, 1.8 million - 3 million by October, 2.8 million - 3 million by November, and 5 millionby December this year.

The roadmap has been designed since the government is seeking to achieve herd immunity in Greater Jakarta by the third quarter of 2022, in Java and Bali by the end of 2021, and all Indonesian regions by the first quarter of 2022//ANT

Head of the Ministry of Industry's Human Resources Development Agency, Arus Gunawan. ANTARA/HO-Indonesian Ministry of Industry - 

Indonesia and Singapore have continued to intensify bilateral ties, including in developing quality human resources, as the Indonesian Ministry of Industry forged cooperation with Singapore Polytechnic. 

"This is a tangible commitment from us in supporting the government's program on implementation of the Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap that encompasses the aim to create industrial human resources that are ready to enter the Industry 4.0 era," Head of the Ministry's Human Resources Development Agency, Arus Gunawan, noted here on Friday.

Gunawan remarked that during the 2018-2019 period, the ministry had facilitated 100 training programs for 100 teachers from productive vocational high schools, gathered through the link and match program between vocational schools and industries across the country.

"The training activities are conducted at the Singapore ITE campuses, supported by the Temasek Foundation," he expounded.

Meanwhile, Deputy Principal of Singapore Polytechnic Georgina Phua lauded the participants for their enthusiasm in partaking in the series of training activities, albeit through the online medium, on account of the pandemic.

"The Singapore Polytechnic opens up opportunity for further collaborations for wider technical scopes," she stated.

In 2020, a collaboration program between the ministry's Human Resources Development Agency and the Singapore Polytechnic on training human resources for the Industry 4.0 era was also supported by Temasek Foundation.

The ministry remarked that the program’s beneficiaries had reached 380 people, four-folds higher than the targeted 96 participants.

Senior Director of Temasek Foundation, Gerald Yeo, echoed his party’s commitment to supporting the human resources development training program based on the success recorded in the previous programs.

Gunawan is optimistic that the collaboration would be continued in future and commended all parties involved in the endeavor to shape and hone Indonesian human resources//ANT

Vice President, Ma'ruf Amin, during a video conference with Jamiyyah Ahlith Thoriqoh Al-Mu'tabaroh An-Nahdliyah from his official residence in Jakarta, Thursday (8/7/2021). ANTARA/Secretariat of the Vice President - 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin called on ulemas to protect the people from the threats of hoaxes posed through their spread and receipt.

"Senior clerics (Kyai) rabbaniyyin ulemas, who are vigilant, are what we need, and what is needed now. Allah has ordered us to invite the public to be careful. We have to look for clarity," Amin noted in a statement received on Friday.

The vice president made the statement during a virtual audience with Jamiyyah Ahlith Thoriqoh Al-Mu'tabaroh An-Nahdliyah via videoconferencing from his official residence in Jakarta on Thursday.

The vice president urged ulamas to partake in filtering information currently circulating on social media. False and unconfirmed information can lead to slander and trigger confusion among people owing to disinformation. 

"Many people take undue advantage of the confusion created in society to mislead members, instill doubts in their minds, and create mistrust and conflict," he cautioned.

Amin also emphasized that ulamas should support the government's efforts in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia through disciplined implementation of health protocols and conducting vaccinations.

All people are obligated to protect themselves from the pandemic.

"The dangers of COVID-19 are apparent not only in Indonesia but also across the world. According to scholars, warding off and protecting oneself from danger is something that is obligatory," he stressed//ANT