VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Tourists watch a Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) at the Ragunan Wildlife Park in Jakarta on Thursday (May 14, 2021). (ANTARA FOTO/Aprillio Akbar/foc) - 

The Ragunan Wildlife Park in South Jakarta welcomed 2,460 visitors the day after Eid Al-Fitr on Friday. The figure was based on data collected as of 9 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), information services and public relations staff at the park, Ragunan Wahyudi Bambang, said. 

"The number will increase as many visitors are coming in," he added.

Amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic, Ragunan park has put restrictions on the number of visitors it will allow during the Eid holidays this year, Bambang informed.

"The visitor limit is 30 percent (of the total capacity), according to the governor's circular letter number 5 of 2021. Under normal conditions, the number of visitors during Eid Al-Fitr is around 100 thousand, so if we assume 30 percent of 100 thousand, 30 thousand (visitors are expected to come to the park),” he added.

All visitors at Ragunan Zoo are being asked to follow COVID-19 health protocols, including wearing masks, maintaining a safe distance, and washing hands, he said.

In addition, entry has only been opened for visitors holding a Jakarta identity card and buying tickets online, he added.

"Visitors are required to register their ticket orders online. The order is Day-1, so if tomorrow they want to come here, they must register via the link we have provided," he said//ANT

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (center) and members of the National Energy Council (DEN) posed for a picture on electric motorcycles at the Transportation Ministry building in Jakarta on Tuesday (May 11, 2021). ANTARA/HO-Doc. DEN - 

The increased uptake of electric vehicles will lower the consumption of fuel oil, thereby reducing Indonesia's current account deficit, a member of the National Energy Council (DEN) representing stakeholders Satya Widya Yudha stated.

"If we can have two million electric motorcycles, two thousand electric cars, and 600 electric buses, we can save at least 2.35 million barrels of fuel oil in a year," Yudha remarked here on Friday.

Earlier on Tuesday (May 11), eight members of DEN, representing stakeholders, held a meeting with Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, DEN's member representing the government.

The eight DEN members are Agus Puji Prasetyono, Musri, Satya Widya Yudha, Herman Darnel Ibrahim, Daryatmo Mardiyanto, Eri Purnomohadi, As Natio Lasman, and Yusra Khan.

Prasetyono and Musri represented academics, Yudha and Ibrahim represented the industry, Mardiyanto and Purnomohadi represented consumers, Lasman was for technology, and Yusra Khan for environment.

Yudha pointed to reduced carbon emissions from transportation being dominated by means of land transportation.

"Hence, the Transportation Ministry's initiative to boost the uptake of electric vehicles is reasonable," he stated.

However, it necessitated the provision of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, including free parking, free toll road tariff, or cashback while buying electric vehicles to attract public interest to use them.

The government will additionally require to build more charging stations, he remarked.

"The government has targeted to establish 88,045 charging stations by 2025, and until now, only 57 stations have been built at 35 locations. The development of charging stations would need to be accelerated," he pointed out.

According to Yudha, DEN's members had also sought recommendation for its strategic plan for the 2021-2025 period, especially on the Transportation Ministry's inter-sectoral policy to achieve the mixed energy target.

The strategic plan has focused on applying the national energy mix plan based on fair, sustainable, and environmentally sound principles in pursuit of energy resilience, self-sufficiency, and sovereignty.

The DEN will optimize monitoring on the implementation of inter-sectoral energy policies encompassing the national energy policy (KEN), national energy general plan (RUEN), and regional energy general plan (RUED)//ANT

Floods and landslides struck five districts in Indonesia's four provinces on the first day of Eid al-Fitr on Thursday (May 13, 2021). ANTARA/HO-BNPB - 

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirmed that floods and landslides struck five districts in Indonesia's four provinces on the first day of Eid al-Fitr on Thursday.

The districts that bore the brunt of the disasters were Tanah Bumbu and Central Hulu Sungai in South Kalimantan Province, Kapuas Hulu in West Kalimantan Province, Simalungun in North Sumatra, and Wajo in South Sulawesi, the agency noted in a statement here on Friday.

The flooding resulted from unremitting torrential rains that caused several rivers to overflow their banks, according to BNPB.

In Tanah Bumbu, floods hit Sinar Bulan Village in Satui Sub-district. The flooding, caused by the overflowing of Satui River, affected 543 people and led to the displacement of at least 98 of them.

Floodwaters, reaching a height of up to 1.5 meters, inundated 555 houses and 55 hectares of agricultural areas.

According to a report received on Friday (May 14) at 8:00 WIB, the floodwaters had not receded, weather in the area was cloudy, and rainfall was expected.

In Central Hulu Sungai, the Haruyan watershed overflowed and inundated the Haruyan Seberang Village, Haruyan Village, Lok Buntar, Pengambau Hilir Dalam, Pengambau Hilir Luar, and Mangunang Village.

The floodwaters, reaching heights of between 25 and 30 centimeters, affected at least 629 households.

In Kapuas Hulu, the Badau watershed overflowed and swamped four villages: Badau, Janting, Pulau Majang, and Seriang.

Meanwhile, in Simalungun, floods and landslides hit two villages in the Girsang Sinpangan Bolon Sub-district.

The Awo Dam and Bulete River overflowed their banks and flooded three villages in the Pitfeedua Sub-district, Wajo. The three villages are Tabarakka, Benteng, and Bulete.

The Wajo disaster mitigation office (BPBD) reported that flooding had affected a total of 1,700 people or 890 households.

Some 686 houses, three school buildings, two mosques, 310 hectares of rice fields, several roads, and 20 hectares of gardens were submerged in the flooding//ANT

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi - 

Indonesia urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take concrete action against mounting tensions and violence following Israel's expulsion of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah area, East Jerusalem, and assaults on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi reaffirmed Indonesia's stance on unwavering support to the Palestinian people's struggle and urged the UNSC to take concrete steps to end all forms of violence and bring justice and offer protection to the Palestinian people.

“Israel has been denying the rights of the Palestinian people and nation for too long. Indonesia will continue to work with the Palestinian people and nation in fighting for their rights,” the minister noted here on Wednesday.

Marsudi urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to immediately hold special meetings to discuss widespread tensions and violence, especially in the Gaza strip, that had siphoned the lives of dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children and women.

Indonesia has also continued to play an active role in supporting the realization of full independence of Palestine on all fronts, including through the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), in which Indonesia is the deputy chairman.

The committee has the mandate to fight for Palestinian rights, including the right to independence, Marsudi noted.

On Tuesday (May 11), President Joko Widodo voiced Indonesia's firm stance against Israel's forced evictions of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, and attacks against Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Indonesia denounced the action and urged the UNSC to take concrete steps against continued violations by Israel, the foreign minister stated.

"Apart from what the president has said and observing the recent developments, Indonesia also condemns the spread of tension and violence, particularly in the Gaza strip, which has caused the deaths of dozens of innocent civilians," Marsudi noted//ANT