VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo attends the ASEAN leaders' meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington D.C., on May 13. 2022. (ANTARA/HO-Press Bureau of Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev/uyu) - 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has encouraged the establishment of the ASEAN and United States (US) partnership in dealing with climate change and highlighted three important aspects on climate change mitigation.

“(The three aspects are) climate financing must be fulfilled, cooperation on energy transition needs to be strengthened, while green investment has to be increased," Jokowi stated at the ASEAN leaders' meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington D.C. on Friday.

Hence, the president has called on other developed countries to fulfill their climate financing commitment.

The head of state noted that during the 2000-2019 period, the ASEAN only received US$56 billion, or about 10 percent of the total climate financing support provided by developed countries.

“I have to be honest that the commitment of developed countries to fulfil climate financing is quite low. It becomes an obstacle in achieving the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) globally,” he pointed out.

Furthermore, President Jokowi has conveyed that ASEAN remains committed to increasing the percentage of utilization of new and renewable energy in the region, from 14 percent in 2018 to 23 percent in 2025.

"The (ASEAN’s) attempt requires clean energy investment and technology support of at least $367 billion," he stated.

Meanwhile, energy transition programs in Indonesia will require $30 billion for the next eight years, he noted.

The president stated that Indonesia has huge renewable energy potentials for implementing energy transition programs, including electricity potential of around 437 Gigawatts (GW) from solar, wind, and geothermal energy.

Currently, the utilization of renewable energy in Indonesia has only reached 0.3 percent of the total potential.

"Indonesia also has great prospects as a hub for the development of the electric vehicle ecosystem in the (ASEAN) region," Jokowi remarked.

The president also noted that green economy and investment had huge potential to be developed in future. Hence, an effective mechanism is required to facilitate the government as well as the public and private business players to collaborate.

"Investment in green infrastructure development can become an important aspect of the ASEAN-US collaboration that requires at least US$2 trillion in the next 10 years," he added//ANT

Photo of a a ship carrying coal across a river. ANTARA PHOTO/Nova Wahyudi/rwa/pri/FR - 

The reference coal price (HBA) in May 2022 was recorded at US$275.64, or reduced by US$12.76 per ton, from the previous month, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stated.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry's Communication Bureau, Public Information Service, and Cooperation Head, Agung Pribadi, noted that the decline in price was caused by an increase in the world's coal supply.

China and India have increased their domestic coal production to reduce imports, he remarked.

In addition to the increase in supply, China's decision to reduce the number and operations of electric steam power plants and develop green energy also drove the decline in coal prices.

From January to April 2022, the HBA graphic had continued to climb, starting from US$158.50 per ton in January, before rising to US$188.38 in February and US$203.69 in March, and finally reached US$288.40 in April.

This is due to the decision of the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to conduct an embargo on energy supply from Russia.

The graph only started to decline just this month, Pribadi noted.

HBA is a price obtained from the index average of Indonesia Coal Index (ICI), Newcastle Export Index (NEX), Globalcoal Newcastle Index (GCNC), and Platt's 5900 in the previous month.

Two derivative factors -- supply and demand -- affect HBA's movement.

The supply derivative factor is affected by weather, the technical aspect in mining and supply chain, and supplier country policy.

Meanwhile, the demand derivative factor is affected by electricity demand that correlates with the industry condition, import policy, and competition with other energy commodities, such as liquefied natural gas, natural gas, nuclear, and hydro.

The May HBA will be utilized directly in the coal commodity trading within a month at the point of sale on a Free On Board or FOB basis on the carrier ship, Pribadi stated//ANT

Female hurdler Emilia Nova attends the launch of the Indonesian contingent jersey for the 31st Hanoi SEA Games in Jakarta on April 28. 2022. (ANTARA/Arindra Meodia/uyu) - 

Being the Indonesian national flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 31st Hanoi Southeast Asian (SEA) Games was a matter of immense pride and honor for the hurdler Emilia Nova.

Moreover, Nova is the first female flag bearer for the contingent at the biggest sporting event in Southeast Asia.

Nova's selection for serving as the flag bearer was inseparable from her impressive track record.

She bagged a silver medal in the women’s heptathlon at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, a silver medal in the women's 100-meter (m) hurdles at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, as well as a gold medal in the women's 100m hurdles at the Philippines 2019 SEA Games.

On account of her achievements, the hurdler qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that took place from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

However, her aspirations of competing in the world’s biggest sporting event remained unfulfilled since she suffered from a long-term injury that required her to be operated in June 2021.

It started in 2019 when she sensed an ache in her waist. However, she brushed it off as a normal injury at the time.

However, the pain did not subside for quite a long time. A thorough examination showed that her L4 spinal segment had shifted.

Hence, despite Nova having a great opportunity to compete in the Olympics through the universality quota scheme, she decided to drop the opportunity and opted for a surgery to maintain her career as an athlete.

She was replaced by Alvin Tehupeiory in the women’s 100 meters.

Was Nova disappointed? Certainly. However, she told ANTARA that her decision to undergo the surgery was to continue to pursue several other dreams to make Indonesia proud at the global stage.

Hence, she had huge determination to swiftly recover by undertaking various programs to expedite her healing process.

She came back with a vengeance in the 82nd Singapore Open Track & Field Championships held at the Home of Athletics at the Kallang Sports Centre, Singapore, on April 16-17, 2022.

In the first international tournament after her surgery, the Jakarta athlete bagged a gold medal in the women's 100m hurdles after recording a time of 13.74 seconds.

At the tournament, she did not sense any pain, thereby indicating that she had made a complete recovery. It bolstered her motivation to defend her gold medal at the 31st Hanoi SEA Games.

Hence, she has stepped up her training and finalized her preparations.

Being chosen to be the flag bearer also further encouraged her to bag a gold medal in her first international multi-sport event after the surgery.

In addition, Nova's selection as the national flag bearer at the opening ceremony -- held at the M ình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 12, 2022 -- is proof that Indonesia upholds equality for women in sports.

Chef de Mission (CdM) of the Indonesian contingent at the 31st SEA Games, Ferry J. Kono, emphasized that male and female athletes had equal rights and opportunities.

The Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has intensively campaigned for the equality of women through the Indonesian Women in Sports Commission.

Hence, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) had assessed that the commission was one of the most active institutions in promoting the achievement of female athletes through various events and discussions.

As a series of the implementation of the 31st Hanoi SEA Games, the Women in Sports Commission of SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) held a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 11, 2022.

During the meeting, the participants discussed various issues regarding sports and women in Southeast Asia.

Nowadays, although women's participation in sporting events has increased, there is still a lack of gender equality in sports leadership at the sporting board, executive committee, and health committee.

The number of female officials in sports institutions in the 11 Southeast Asian countries is still low, and currently, none of them is being led by a woman.

Hence, the meeting's participants agreed to urge the national Olympic committee in Southeast Asia to establish a women's sports committee to increase the participation of women in the sports committee in the region to up to 30 percent.

The Indonesian contingent displayed its cultural diversity at the opening ceremony of the 31st Hanoi SEA Games by wearing various native headbands from the provinces throughout Indonesia.

"We want to showcase the wealth of Indonesian culture, so we chose to wear traditional headbands. (The presented headbands do) not only (come from) a province, but all provinces in Indonesia," Kono affirmed.

Attending the opening ceremony as the head of the contingent, he wore the takowa kiki, an attire of the Gorontalo King that is usually sported while inspecting the condition of his people.

The attire is usually adorned by a gold chain on the left and right side of the trousers as a symbol that a king must be neutral, while the chain means that patience is a virtue of a leader.

The clothes worn by the CdM were quite colorful. It was dominated by red and decorated by yellow, green, and purple. These colors are the symbols of the ancient Gorontalo kingdom that reflect enthusiasm, confidence, and firmness.

“I am from Gorontalo, and the dress was designed by a local designer. It proves that extraordinary potentials exist throughout Indonesia," he remarked.

Meanwhile, the athletes partaking in the opening ceremony wore a white polo shirt, red suit jacket, cream trousers, and footwear made by Indonesian badminton player Greysia Polii’s brand, Fine Counsel.

"We chose sporty casual millennial clothing to showcase that the Indonesian contingent is dominated by junior athletes. Hence, we do not need to wear a too formal suit. Meanwhile, the shoes we put on showcase that we are proud of Indonesian-made products," Kono remarked.

Hence, in addition to promoting Indonesian cultural wealth, he expected that the simple costumes used by Indonesian athletes during the parade can showcase the modesty of Indonesians in interacting with the people of Southeast Asia.

In addition to Nova and Kono, the Indonesian contingent comprised another 23 athletes from four sports branches -- athletics, swimming, jiujitsu, and e-sports -- as well as five officials.

The athletes appointed to participate in the opening ceremony were the ones whose competition started on May 14, 2022.

"We want to maintain the condition of the athletes. Thus, they will not get tired during their matches," the CdM added//ANT

The 15th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) press conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Friday (May 13, 2022). ANTARA/Andi Firdaus/FR - 

The 15th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) highlighted a gap in the medication for mental disorder patients that occurs in the ASEAN region as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The medication gap in Southeast Asian countries' survey shows that there is a 90-percent gap that occurs in ASEAN countries," Indonesian Health Ministry's Mental Health Director, Vensya Sitohang, noted at the AHMM conference here on Friday.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects the condition of the people's mental and neurological disorder. The pandemic has hindered medication and treatment for patients, Sitohang remarked.

A major cross-border survey, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows medication service for mental disorder patients in developed countries is hindered by 35-50 percent, while in less developed countries, it is 76-85 percent.

"Generally, patients do not receive medication within 12 months," Sitohang explained.

The survey conducted by the Mental Health Doctor Association reported that mental disorder during the pandemic is triggered by several factors.

"We can imagine that the pandemic harms everyone's mental condition," she said.

"We can feel every second of the ambulance siren that passes by, hear news about our closest acquaintances who enter hospitals, and declining oxygen in every pandemic wave," she stated.

Another aspect that affects the people's mental health during the pandemic is the news in various mass media outlets concerning the number of deaths and people confirmed positive for COVID-19.

This situation exacerbates the psychological condition of patients, who already have a mental disorder, she noted.

Several AHMM delegations also highlighted that the medication gap prevalence rate increased up to two folds from the condition before the pandemic.

This condition is experienced by several mental disorder patient groups, such as the normal population without mental disorder and people, who already suffer from them due to domestic and social troubles.

The medication gap is also experienced by patients experiencing trouble accessing health services that further worsens the condition of the disease.

Moreover, during the second COVID-19 wave in July, during the oxygen crisis, a lack of oxygen supply to the brain also causes mental disorder to persist, Sitohang pointed out.

During the event, psychiatrist Albert Maramis noted that within the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a certain report emerged in which it was stated that one out of five people aged 15-29 years in Indonesia thought about ending their life.

"Within a year of the pandemic, different survey results show that two out of five people are thinking about killing themselves. Now, at the start of 2022, one out of two is thinking about ending his or her life," he remarked.

A similar situation was also reported from related authorities in Thailand. One of the causes is loneliness and boredom during the quarantine period.

"They cannot contact other people. The other problem involves the economy," he explained.

According to the latest data in 2021, women aged 15-29 years fell in the vulnerable group and those living in urban areas do not have support, including those isolated due to the pandemic.

Several AHMM delegations in Nusa Dua, Bali, encourage bolstering mental health integration at the level of primary and secondary treatment.

One of the methods is by placing psychiatrists in health service facilities, such as the public health center (Puskesmas), to improve medication coverage and expedite efforts to help patients with mental disorder to recover//ANT