VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

photo : radar

After months of praying at home, Muslims in Jakarta are now able to perform the first Friday prayers in mosques, following the transitional period in the capital city, that starts to ease restrictions in public spaces in the capital city. Many Jakartans have also shared their experience participating in Friday prayers with the additional physical distancing measure and health protocols trough social media. President Joko Widodo also performed the prayer in the Baiturrahim mosque situated in the presidential palace complex. Governor Anies Baswedan performed Friday prayer in the Fatahillah mosque located in the City Hall compound To prevent overcrowding in mosques during the weekly prayer, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) had issued a fatwa allowing the prayer to be conducted in turns in two groups, rather than the usual simultaneous prayer at noon. Besides mosques, the Jakarta Administration has also allowed other houses of worship to operate during the transition phase. The Jakarta archdiocese, for example, had been gearing up to open its churches by preparing a new worship protocol following the Religious Affairs Ministers’ announcement that houses of worship would be gradually reopened//JP

photo : bankindonesia 

Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo is buoyant about the rupiah strengthening, as the exchange rate traded on Friday afternoon went below Rp14,000 per US dollar, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted in an online press statement as quoted by Antara on Friday, that the rupiah continues to show signs of strengthening in line with our view that the exchange rate for today is still undervalued, so that in future, it still has the potential to strengthen. Until Friday afternoon, the rupiah traded at Rp13,855 against the US dollar and reached Rp13,960 per US dollar. The BI governor highlighted several factors driving the rupiah to strengthen, including inflation and a low current account deficit, differences in domestic and foreign interest rates, and decreased risk premiums. Warjiyo expounded that based on the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data in May 2020, the inflation rate was low, reaching 2.19 percent from that of last year//ANT

photo : alinea.id

The Indonesian government’s spokesperson for COVID-19 Handling, Achmad Yurianto as quoted by Antara on Friday afternoon stated, that the six provinces of Aceh, Bengkulu, Riau, West Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and East Nusa Tenggara did not record any addition of COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, the government’s data showed that 19 provinces recorded less than 10 new COVID-19 cases a day. While delivering a press statement broadcast via the BNPB YouTube account in Jakarta, Yurianto remarked that East Java had witnessed the highest number of new COVID-19 cases, at 141; followed by 76 new cases in DKI Jakarta; 71 in South Kalimantan; 58 in Central Java; and 54 in South Sulawesi. Yurianto noted that the cumulative figure of COVID-19 patients across Indonesia rose by 703 to reach 29,521, while the number of patients that recovered increased by 551 to touch 9,443. The highest number of COVID-19 recoveries were recorded in DKI Jakarta, reaching 144; followed by 118 in East Java; 45 each in Banten and West Java; and 21 in West Sumatra//ANT

photo : kemendag

Economic ministers of Indonesia and ASEAN nations have agreed, to ensure free flow of trade, especially in essential goods, and make efforts to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement was reached during the Special ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Virtual Conference Meeting on COVID-19 Responses. The meeting discussed the joint efforts taken by ASEAN countries to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and followed up on an agreement reached by the heads of states and governments of ASEAN, in the Declaration of the Special ASEAN Summit on Coronavirus Disease 2019, and the previous ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting, which produced the AEM's Statement on Strengthening ASEAN's Economic Resilience in Response to the Outbreak of COVID-19. As quoted by Antara, Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga in a statement in Jakarta on Friday stated, that Indonesia and the ASEAN economic ministers are committed, to exploring mechanisms to maintain supply chain connectivity, and ensure the smooth flow of trade in essential goods in the Southeast Asia region, particularly those related to handling the COVID-19 pandemic//ANT