VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Candian finance minister Chrystia Freeland speaks to journalists outside the US Trade Representative's office in Washington, US, Aug 28, 2018. (File photo: REUTERS/Chris Wattie) - 

Canada's finance minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday (Apr 22) said that it was impossible to collaborate with Russia in the G20, a group of countries that meets to discuss ways to foster global economic growth, as long as Moscow is waging war in Ukraine.

"The G20 can't function effectively with Russia at the table," Freeland said in a joint news conference with Ukrainian finance minister Serhiy Marchenko in Washington, where G20 countries held talks on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.

Because the war is undermining growth, "Russia does not have a place at the table of countries who have come together to maintain global economic prosperity ... You can't be a poacher and gamekeeper at the same time."

Discord over Russia's presence has been on full display all week, with finance ministers and central bankers from the United States, Canada, Britain and other Western countries walking out of meetings whenever Russian officials spoke.

The divisions have meant G20 finance ministers and central bank governors failed to agree on a communique stating areas of agreement on major issues such as debt relief for poor countries, the impacts of the war in Ukraine and climate change.

Another failure to issue a joint statement came at Thursday's IMF steering committee meeting, and it remained unclear whether the joint IMF-World Bank Development Committee would issue a communique on Friday.

Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent, has made impassioned pleas on behalf of Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in late February.

On Thursday she directly addressed Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov, who joined an IMF meeting virtually, saying his participation was "perverse and absurd" since "your war is making us poorer," according to a source.

The G20 includes Western countries that have accused Moscow of war crimes in Ukraine, as well as China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, which have not joined Western-led sanctions against Russia over the conflict.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory, but to destroy its southern neighbor's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists//CNA

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin on the sidelines of a working visit to Gunung Kidul, here on Friday (April 22, 2022) - 

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has expressed appreciation over the provision of a quota of 100,051 by the Saudi Arabian government for prospective pilgrims who wish to perform the pilgrimage.

"We are grateful that we got (this quota) after two years of not being able to make the pilgrimage," he remarked on the sidelines of a working visit to Gunung Kidul, here on Friday.

The Vice President said that the government of Saudi Arabia is authorized to provide Hajj quotas.

Hence, the Indonesian government has accepted the quota provided by the government of Saudi Arabia even though the figure is lower compared to the quota of 200 thousand before the pandemic.

"During normal situations, we are usually given a quota of more than 200 thousand. Now, we are given more than 100 thousand," he noted.

Despite this, the Vice President said he still appreciates the provision of the quota as Indonesia is one of the countries that has received a higher quota compared to other countries.

“So, we accept the quota given and we are among the countries that get more (quota) than other countries," he added.

The Vice President asked the public to be patient since the reduction in the Hajj quota has caused queues for Hajj departures to grow longer.

“Usually, there are those who have to wait 10 years to be able to perform Hajj, some are 20 years or 15 years. Due to the two-year pandemic, the delay in Hajj departure could be longer," he said//ANT

A screenshot of acting director of infectious disease prevention and control at the Health Ministry, Tiffany Tiara Pakasi, addressing a virtual press conference on Friday (April 22, 2022). (ANTARA/Andi Firdaus/rst) - 

The Ministry of Health has identified five regional zones for malaria elimination as part of an effort to realize Malaria-Free Indonesia by 2030, an official has informed. 

"To achieve the target, we aim to intensify the implementation of malaria prevention in an integrated and comprehensive manner," acting director of infectious disease prevention and control at the Health Ministry, Tiffany Tiara Pakasi, said at a virtual press conference on Friday.

Until 2021, out of 514 districts/cities, at least 347 were declared to have reached the elimination target, she informed. Moreover, in order to achieve the 2030 Malria Free, regional zones have been identified for targeted malaria elimination efforts. 

Region I consists of provinces on the islands of Java and Bali; region II comprises provinces in Sumatra, Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara; region III provinces in Kalimantan and North Maluku; region IV Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara provinces; and region V Papua and West Papua provinces, she said.

In 2021, the number of malaria cases in Indonesia reached 304,607, reflecting a decline compared to 2009, when the number of cases was pegged at 418,439, Pakasi said.

Based on the number of cases, it is known that the incidence of malaria shown by the Annual Parasite Incidence (API) indicator is 1.1 cases per 1,000 population.

The 2030 Malaria-Free effort was preceded by the achievement of malaria-free areas at the provincial level and in all districts/cities, she said.

“The success of Malaria-Free Indonesia will be determined by the success of early detection of malaria cases in the community, especially cases in migrant populations. Detection of cases in migrant residents is depending on the authority outside the health sector," Pakasi added.

In addition, the success of the Malaria-Free Indonesia initiative will also be determined by vector control in environments, such as abandoned ponds, rice fields, plantations with water puddles, swamps, lagoons, and other areas with stagnant water.

Pakasi called for the involvement of the community and the private sector, such as mining companies, plantation companies, and other companies, in providing resource support as a corporate social responsibility.

World Malaria Day is commemorated every year on April 25. This year, the commemoration will be held in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province, on May 31, 2022.

The event aims to increase local government and stakeholders' commitment for mobilizing the support and active role of all components to realize a Malaria-Free Indonesia by 2030//ANT

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin at the LinkAja Sharia event on Friday (April 22, 2022). (ANTARA/Arnidhya Nur Z/rst) - 

The increased potential of digital finance, including the use of electronic money, is expected to encourage national economic growth, in general, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said.

"The great potential of the digital economy, including electronic money, is able to encourage national economic growth. Digital sharia economic services are also expected to support national economic resilience and become an accelerator of development in the economic sector," Amin remarked at the LinkAja Sharia event on Friday.

Data from Bank Indonesia (BI) has shown that electronic money transactions grew 42.06 percent in the first quarter of 2022, he noted.

BI had earlier projected that digital money transactions would swell by 18.03 percent throughout 2022. If this growth is realized, the total electronic money transactions will reach Rp360 trillion for the year.

"This figure is estimated to grow, in line with public acceptance and preference to use electronic money," Amin said.

The increase in electronic money transactions has been driven by a number of factors, including the development of digital technology; changes in people's preference for practical, safe, convenient, and fast transactions; and new ways of transacting that have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

"The increasing popularity of electronic money as a payment tool has widened its function to pay bills, taxes, and distributing social funds," Amin noted.

For this reason, the Vice President said he hopes that stakeholders in the digital and Islamic finance industry will play a role in increasing public financial literacy and inclusion.

"We hope it will be able to provide trust and tranquility for the community by optimizing the role and potential of its services with a commitment to maintain security and benefits," he emphasized.

With electronic money gaining traction, there is a need to increase protection against the risk of cybercrime, while still catering to the needs of a dynamic society, he said.

Amin further said he hopes that state-owned digital financial platforms such as LinkAja Sharia can further expand collaboration with various sharia economic actors, especially to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Islamic social funds//ANT