VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Health workers specializing in COVID-19 handling at the Bantul regional health office. The government is incentivizing health service facilities and institutions where health workers are facing a high risk of COVID-19 exposure.  Quote: The letter mentioned that specialized doctors will receive Rp15 million per person per month - 

The Health Ministry has said that the incentives offered by the government to health officers handling COVID-19 cases are based on the parameters set by the Finance Ministry’s letter No.113/2021.

The letter lays down the incentives based on several criteria, such as the ratio of the number of patients, the number of health workers on duty, and working hours, secretary of the development and human resource empowerment board at the Health Ministry, Tisa Wahjuni Putri, said here on Friday.

“The letter mentioned that specialized doctors will receive Rp15 million per person per month,” she disclosed during a talk show on ‘Acceleration effort of Health Ministry on Incentive Payment for Health Workers’.

In addition, the incentive for resident doctors (PPDS) has been set as high as Rp12.5 million, doctors and dentists at Rp10 million, nurses and midwives Rp7.5 million, and other health workers Rp5 million, she said.

“To be recorded, those amounts are the highest numbers (the upper limit), so it (incentives) cannot exceed the numbers,” she added.

Meanwhile, the criteria for health service facilities and institutions for availing the incentives is whether their health workers are at a high risk of being exposed to COVID-19, she informed.

In other words, not all health service facilities will receive the incentives, she said.

“The health service facilities deserving to receive the incentives are state hospitals, military and police hospitals, state-owned enterprise hospitals, private hospitals, and regional hospitals,” she added.

Incentives must also be provided to field hospitals like Wisma Atlet Kemayoran in Jakarta, field hospitals in Surabaya and Ambon, special hospitals for infection, and public health centers, where risk of COVID-19 exposure is high, she said.

“So, those are the criteria, but other health facilities that also can receive the incentives are port health offices,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government is providing as much as Rp300 million in compensation to families of health workers dying on duty while handling COVID-19, she informed.

“The incentive will never replace the life of health workers, but at least this hopefully can mirror the government's appreciation,” she remarked//ANT

Secretary general of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Mira Tayyiba, at the Nuzulul Quran commemoration here on Thursday (April 29, 2021). (kominfo.go.id) - 

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics has urged Internet users, or netizens, to speak “good things” on digital platforms, especially during Ramadhan.

“Let us speak the right things, good things, and beneficial things,” secretary general of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Mira Tayyiba, said in a press release on the Nuzulul Quran (the day of the revelation of the Quran) commemoration here on Thursday.

Referring to the event’s theme ‘Let’s Speak Good’, Tayyiba urged the public to keep spoken and written communication positive, and understand that not everything posted on digital platforms is good, for instance, hoaxes and conflict spread online.

“This theme becomes contextual since in the digital era, we have opportunities to broaden the horizons, improve and develop knowledge through Internet utilization. Hence, the world seemingly turns to be borderless and information comes from all over,” she pointed out.

“Fake news, hate speeches, endless conflicts also throng our digital rooms,” she added.

She then highlighted that Nuzulul Quran means happiness, particularly for the ministerial staff because they can gather again in good health, either face-to-face or online.

“I have been missing this Nuzulul Quran commemoration because last year it was unable to be held. However, we understand the event was impossible to be organized due to the condition at that moment. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), this afternoon, we can celebrate by surely observing the health protocols,” she said//ANT

Indonesia's halal industry gains momentum amid pandemic - 

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, is focusing on developing its halal industry to meet domestic and global demand in light of trends that indicate sharia businesses grew amid the economic crises wrought by the pandemic.

The halal industry has been able to record positive performance despite the pressure on economies around the world owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the industry had recorded a growth of 3.2 percent — higher than global economic growth of 2.3 percent.

"Globally, spending on halal products in 2019 before COVID-19 occurred, especially on food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion, and travel products had reached US$2.02 trillion," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati informed on the sidelines of the online launch of a halal industry collaboration program on April 14, 2021.

Indonesia is the world's biggest market for halal products, particularly in the food, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics sectors, she pointed out.

"This potential must inspire business operators to work on the halal industry," she said.

Indonesia's sharia economy is focusing on developing the halal industry, sharia finance, sharia social finance, and sharia entrepreneurship.The government's support has been apparent from the several policies aimed at developing the halal industry, including the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (KEK) for the industry.

Supply chain cooperation is a necessity at this time for strengthening the ecosystem and creating a comprehensive supply chain cooperation, Indrawati said.

Hence, it is crucial to develop a cross-sector collaboration program to support the development of sharia economy and finance in Indonesia, which is targeting to become the world's sharia economy hub, she added.

"This (the Muslim Center of Excellence program) is an initiative from a very positive industry in order to strengthen the ecosystem of the halal industry in Indonesia and strengthen the capabilities and capacities of the industry, including MSMEs, in producing goods meeting the preferences of Muslim groups," she said.

Meanwhile, executive director of KNEKS, Ventje Rahardjo, expressed the hope that the collaboration would help strengthen Indonesia's goal to serve as a center for halal producers//ANT

Minister of Investment and head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Bahlil Lahadalia. (ANTARA/HO-Biro Pers Sekret/Rusman/am.) -- 

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the agriculture sector between 2015 and March, 2021 was dominated by investment in oil palm plantations, the Ministry of Investment / Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has said.

Foreign investment in food crops, plantations, and livestock came from Singapore (53.7 percent) and Malaysia (15.8 percent), Jumina Sinaga, head of the sub-directorate for agribusiness at the ministry, informed during a webinar on 'How foreign investment can advance Indonesian agriculture’, here on Friday.

"This is in accordance with investment in oil palm plantations, which mostly come from the two countries," he said.

FDI realization in agriculture during the period reached US$9.5 billion, accounting for around 5.2 percent of the country's total FDI (in Indonesian value).

Meanwhile, domestic investment (PMDN) reached Rp173.9 trillion, accounting for 9.1 percent of the total PMDN in Indonesia.

"The FDI investment projects in the agricultural sector are mostly in Kalimantan and Sumatra," Sinaga said.

During the webinar, associate researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), Donny Pasaribu, highlighted that almost all of the agricultural investment went into oil palm plantations during the period.

"Not the other way around (which is) don't invest in palm oil. We, however, feel that other sectors also need encouragement and have further opportunities (to be developed through FDI)," he said.

He highlighted the importance of foreign investment in agriculture for increasing agricultural productivity to ensure food price affordability and better food quality.

Foreign investment is expected to bring advanced agricultural technology to Indonesia, help promote Indonesian agricultural products in international markets, and improve national agricultural productivity, he added//ANT