VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Yogyakarta International Airport in Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta Special Region. (ANTARA/Sutarmi/rst) - 

State-owned airport operator, PT Angkasa Pura I in Yogyakarta International Airport in Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta Special Region, will open international flight services to Malaysia starting on April 29, 2022.

Acting General Manager of the Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA), Agus Pandu Purnama, said his side had held a cross-agency coordination meeting to prepare for international flight services.

"On April 29, we will start to operate an international flight from Malaysia. We have held a cross-agency coordination meeting to prepare for international flight services," Purnama stated on Saturday.

He noted that the cross-agency coordination meeting involved the 0731 District Military Command, Kulon Progo Police, C.I.Q authority, ground handling staff, airlines, and representatives from the Ministry of Health, Regional III Airport Authority Office, Kulon Progo Health Service, Social Service, and Yogyakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD). 

C.I.Q is the inspection process for customs and excise, immigration and quarantine process to regulate, monitor, and secure traffic of upcoming people, goods, and other living things. 

Purnama noted that the coordination meeting was held as a follow-up to the Circular Letter of the COVID-19 Task Force Number 17 of 2022, Circular of the Director-General of Immigration Number IMI-0549.GR.01.01 regarding immigration facilities, as well as Circular Letter of the Ministry of Transportation Number 42 of 2022 concerning Guidelines for the Implementation of Overseas Travel.

There is a simplification of the arrival process wherein Overseas Travelers (PPLN) are required to download and fill out the PeduliLindungi application completely and do not need to fill out the e-HAC, are able to show their vaccine certificate, and conduct RT-PCR if their body temperature is above 37.5 degrees Celsius.

"In general, all agencies involved have expressed their readiness to support international flights through the Yogyakarta International Airport," Purnama concluded//ANT

Ministry of Communication and Informatics' spokesperson, Dedy Permadi (far right), during the ‘Huawei CSR Ramadhan 2022 I Do Care’ event here on Thursday (April 14, 2022). (kominfo.go.id/FR) - 

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics has invited all parties to collaborate for developing digital talents who can improve the national economy.

"Our collective duty is to ensure that the Internet can be used in a positive, productive, and creative manner by all Indonesian Internet users," the ministry's spokesperson, Dedy Permadi, said in a statement issued on Friday.

The ministry considers the Internet as a double-edged sword, which can have a positive and negative impact in the absence of guidelines, he noted during the ‘Huawei CSR Ramadhan 2022 I Do Care’ event.

To this end, the ministry has invited various parties to get actively involved in the programs for developing digital literacy, digital talents, and digital leadership.

"Within this opportunity, I wish to invite all of us to ensure that the Internet and digital hardware can be utilized for a positive goal and to keep our children away from negative use," he remarked.

Internet utilization toward a positive, productive, and creative goal is part of the intensification of digital talent policies. This will also affect the gross domestic product (GDP).

"Data has shown that the contribution of digital skills in Indonesia in 2019 reached Rp900 trillion toward the GDP," Permady informed.

The government has drawn up two major scenarios for the digital talent program.

In the first scenario, if the government and stakeholders do not intensity digital skills policies, the contribution of digital skills to the GDP will reach only Rp1,900 trillion, or 7 percent of the GDP in 2030.  

In the second scenario, through collaboration for intensifying digital skills policies, the contribution of digital skills to the GDP will reach Rp4,400 trillion, or 17 percent of the GDP that year.   

The collaboration needs to be based on these two scenarios.

During the event, the ministry also invited all citizens, especially parents, to ensure that their children utilize their devices and the Internet in the pursuance of positive, productive, and creative goals//ANT

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian visits Batam Island, Riau Islands Province, on April 15, 2022. (ANTARA/HO-Public Relations Division of Home Affairs Ministry/uyu) - 

Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian quoted Singaporean authorities as saying that foreign tourists from the country had longed to travel to Riau Islands Province, Indonesia, after the two-year travel restrictions imposed due to COVID-19.

"They (Singaporean authorities) say that Singaporeans have missed to visit Batam Island and Bintan Island (located in Riau Islands Province) since the islands are close to Singapore," he stated here on Friday.

He had met the Singaporean home affairs minister and related authorities around two weeks back.

The minister assessed that the visit by Singaporean and Malaysian foreign tourists are crucial to support development of the tourism sector in Batam Island.

However, currently, Singaporean foreign tourists face several obstacles to visit Riau Islands, he noted.

One of the obstacles is the expensive fee of the PCR test in Singapore that can reach S$180, or around Rp1.8 million (US$124.73). Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the cost is only around Rp300 thousand (US$20.79)

In addition, only certain parties in Singapore are allowed to conduct PCR tests.

On the contrary, several public and private parties in Indonesia are allowed to provide COVID-19 test services. Hence, the attempt has facilitated the people to get tested.

Karnavian stated that to address the issues, the Indonesian government had held discussions with the Singaporean authorities.

"Hopefully, the mandatory conducting of the PCR test in Singapore would be switched to only getting the antigen test since it costs only around S$15 or Rp150 thousand (US$10.39)," he stated.

In addition, he assessed that Batam Island and Bintan Island are one of the areas that have lively tourism destinations apart from Bali Island, Lombok Island, and North Sulawesi Province.

Hence, if the local governments continue to develop the potentials, then it will benefit the Regional Original Revenues (PAD).

"The tourism attractions in Lagoi area, Bintan Island, contribute significantly to Bintan District’s PAD," the minister added//ANT

(ANTARA/HO/Dokumen Pribadi) - 

Jayapura, the capital of the Indonesian province of Papua, has signed a five-year-long sister city cooperation agreement with two cities in East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea.

The memorandum of understanding on the cooperation was signed by Jayapura Mayor Benhur Tomi Mano, Wewak Mayor John Nawas, and East Sepik province’s Deputy Governor, David Kusik, on April 8, 2022.

To follow up on the sister city cooperation, Mano said his colleagues from Wewak city and East Sepik province plan to send a team of officials to Jayapura to study the agriculture and tourism industry.

Speaking to ANTARA here on Friday, Mano informed that the cooperation with Wewak and Vanimo, the capital of East Sepik province, would also lead to their holding a sporting event together.

Vanimo city can be reached by land from Jayapura city through the Skouw border post, while Wewak can be reached by air from Vanimo city//ANT