VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Presidential Advisory Council chairman Wiranto (middle) after meeting with the Nusantara Student Executive Board in Jakarta on Friday (April 8, 2022). (ANTARA/Indra Arief/KT) - 

The Presidential Advisory Council welcomed representatives of the Nusantara Student Executive Board (BEM) and listened to their opinions on several current issues, such as basic needs price hike and the 2024 election postponement rejection.

"Today, with the President's permission, we held a meeting with BEM Nusantara to communicate the things that the country is currently facing," Presidential Advisory Council chairman Wiranto said after the meeting with BEM Nusantara here on Friday.

During Friday's meeting, BEM Nusantara raised the problem of the surge in prices of cooking oil and other basic needs ahead of Eid Al-Fitr and the alleged existence of cartels, he added.

The student board also discussed the imposition of taxes, national energy security issues, and the rejection of a proposal to extend the Presidential term to three terms, which would have resulted in the postponement of the 2024 general election, he pointed out.

Wiranto briefly explained to BEM Nusantara that extending the Presidential term to three periods would be rationally impossible.

"Because it concerns the 1945 Constitution; amending the 1945 Constitution is very hard. (One of the) requirements (to amend the Constitution) is the will of the Indonesian people, which is presented in the majority in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI)," he stressed.

According to Wiranto, of the nine political factions in the House of Representatives, six rejected the extension of the Presidential term. The Regional Representative Council (DPD RI) also rejected the discourse.

There should be effective public communication between the government, the students, and the community to avoid misunderstandings, he said.

"Hopefully, our today's communication can yield an understanding between leaders and communities. At least we are no longer stuck in a discourse that is actually impossible to implement," he added//ANT

A health worker vaccinates a resident against COVID-19 at a mall in Tangerang district, Banten province. (ANTARA/Azmi Samsul Maarif) - 

The COVID-19 Handling Task Force of Tangerang district, Banten province, is seeking to expand booster vaccination coverage to reach 700 thousand people or 30 percent of the targeted recipients before Eid al-Fitr.

"Our target is to reach at least 30 percent (coverage) of residents having received the booster dose before Eid," spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force of Tangerang district, Hendra Tarmizi, said here on Friday.

The Indonesian government's policy to set booster vaccination as one of the requirements for people to join the Eid homecoming exodus has encouraged people to get the booster dose, he noted.

The local government has scaled up COVID-19 vaccination services to accommodate people who want to get vaccinated before the exodus, he added.

"Aside from (providing vaccination services) at community health centers (puskesmas), sub-precinct police stations (polsek), and sub-district military command (koramil) posts, we are also providing (vaccination services) in malls," he said.

In Tangerang district, the first dose coverage has reached 2,251 thousand or 78.9 percent of the target population, the second dose has been administered to 1,859 thousand residents or 65.2 percent of the targeted recipients, and the third dose has been administered to 379,063 residents or 17 percent of the target group, he informed.

"The vaccine stock is around 12 thousand doses. It has started to decline now. Once it is below 5 thousand, we will ask (for additional vaccines) from the provincial government," he added.

Earlier, President Widodo had emphasized that people would be allowed to join the Eid al-Fitr exodus if they completed the primary vaccination and received the booster dose against COVID-19.

The President also directed that every exodus activity strictly adhere to COVID-19 health protocols.

As part of the efforts to boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government rolled out a nationwide vaccination program targeting 208,265,720 citizens on January 13, 2021.

According to the Health Ministry's data, as of April 8, 2022, nearly 197,343,681 Indonesians have received their first COVID-19 jab, 161,171,449 have been fully vaccinated, and 26,067,922 have received the booster shot//ANT

Secretary to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso in a media briefing in Jakarta, Friday. (April 8, 2022). ANTARA/Agatha Olivia - 

The government has distributed cash assistance for street vendors, stalls, and fishermen (BT-PKLWN) through the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) from March 15, 2022, to April 8, 2022.

The cash assistance for BT-PKLWN was given to 356,825 recipients.

"Some Rp600 thousand is given for BT-PKLWN for street vendors, stalls, and fishermen in 212 districts and cities," Secretary to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso noted in a media briefing here, Friday.

Moegiarso explained that the BT-PKLWN provided by the National Police had begun to be distributed on March 15, 2022, in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, and so far, it had reached 354,740 recipients out of the targeted 2.7 million.

The BT-PKLWN distributed by TNI from April 7, 2022, until now, has been given to 2,085 recipients.

In addition to BT-PKLWN amounting to Rp600 thousand, Moegiarso remarked that the government will provide direct cash assistance (BLT) for cooking oil worth Rp300 thousand to 2.5 million recipients, mainly to street vendors or food stalls in 514 districts and cities.

BLT worth Rp300 thousand is given for each recipient for a total of three months, so each recipient receives BLT worth Rp100 thousand per month for cooking oil. However, the distribution will be conducted directly for three months this Ramadan and no later than one week before Eid al-Fitr.

He remarked that the calculation of BLT for cooking oil was Rp100 thousand per month based on the assumption that the cooking oil requirement per week was 0.23 liters based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

"Thus, in one month, there is a requirement for one liter of cooking oil per person. Thus, if a family has four people, then the amount is around Rp100 thousand," he explained.

Moegiarso stated that direct cash assistance for cooking oil was not only given through the BT-PKLWN Program but would also be offered through the food assistance program under the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) to 20.65 million recipients.

All aid, comprising BT-PKLWN, BLT for cooking oil, and food assistance, are included in the 2022 National Economic Recovery (PEN) Program//ANT

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan (April 8, 2022). (ANTARA/HO Kemenko Kemaritiman dan Investasi) - 

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has pushed for technological innovation to improve food resilience.

The minister lauded the innovative Ratun R5 method developed by the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology Alumni Association (IKA ITS) for planting rice.

"I really appreciate the efforts that have been made by the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology Alumni Association and the team in making the Ratun R5 rice planting innovation. I hope that IKA ITS can continue its innovation in agriculture, to increase the productivity of agricultural products, so it can contribute to Indonesia's food resilience," Pandjaitan remarked during the harvesting of Ratun R5 rice in Karawang, West Java, on Friday.

The R5 Ratun rice innovation can support the economy and national food resilience in times of uncertainty, and increase the level of domestic components (TKDN), in accordance with President Joko Widodo's directive, he said.

"Progress in agriculture will greatly support the national economy, especially in the midst of global economic uncertainty and the existing COVID-19 pandemic, although it is slowly getting better today," he said.

Ratun R5 is a rice cultivation model under which one seed planting in a year can produce multiple harvests.

This planting model has been developed under a collaboration between IKA ITS and the regional government of Karawang, West Java.

There are various advantages of the Ratun R5 method, mainly because one seed planting can lead to four harvests, without the need for planting seeds again, in a year.

With this, the production of paddy fields per year can increase, production costs decrease, the period from planting to harvesting (60 days) can become shorter, the utilization of paddy fields can be optimized, and employment and income generated for agricultural workers throughout the year.

Ratun R5 technology was patented under IDS number 000003098 on July 30, 2020.

"This is really 100-percent made in Indonesia," ITS Rector Mochammad Ashari said.

Using the Ratun R5 method, three harvests have been produced as of April 2022.

State-owned food company PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (PT RNI) is also involved in an initiative to develop a Ratun R5 factory//ANT