VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Regional development deputy of the National Development Planning (PPN) Ministry and National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Rudy S. Prawiradinata - 

The relocation of the national capital is aimed at shifting the economic center and realizing economic equality in Indonesia, an official from the National Development Planning (PPN) Ministry and National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) has said.

"For the last several years, Java Island's contribution to the national economy has been 58.75 percent," Rudy S. Prawiradinata noted during a national webinar on Friday, according to a statement issued on Saturday.

"To this end, capital city relocation from Jakarta to North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, aims to shift the economic center to realize equality," he said.

Moreover, to optimize this goal, the capital city relocation will be done along with the development of economic clusters to spur urbanization in East Kalimantan, he added.

The population growth within the capital city is estimated to reach 1.7–1.9 million by 2045, Prawiradinata informed.

During the same period, average investment growth in the capital city is targeted to reach 11.9 percent, while in the entire East Kalimantan, it is targeted to touch 4.2 percent, he said.

"The economic driver in the capital city will be supported by Balikpapan and Samarinda," he added.

Speaking at the same webinar, political and strategic issues observer Imron Cotan said that the relocation of the capital city from Jakarta to North Penajam Paser is necessary.

This is due to the fact that Jakarta's area of 661.5 square km is no longer sufficient for providing comfortable housing to its residents, he explained.

"The comfortable living space standard set by the World Health Organization for one person is 9 to 50 square meters," he said.

"Thus, Jakarta, with a population of 11.25 million people, requires public spaces with the size of at least 112.5 million square meters," he added.

In addition, if this adequate space is not met, it could potentially trigger social unrest, he said.

Cramped living spaces, dense population, and limited economic sources tend to make people aggressive, which can result in social unrest, which is common to big cities, he explained.

"Capital city relocation from Jakarta to Nusantara can prevent demographic explosion in the form of social unrest," Cotan claimed.

"East Kalimantan residents that I have met some time ago were very supportive of this capital city relocation because it will create fair economic opportunities," he remarked//ANT

The National Research and Innovation Agency's (BRIN's) Research and Innovation Utilization Acting Deputy Mego Pinandito. ANTARA/HO-Diskominfotik Riau - 

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) calls for concrete programs from the science sector for sustainable development, such as the efforts to speed up sustainable energy transition in the Group of Twenty (G20) event.

"The BRIN provides support through available laboratory infrastructure programs, facilitation and funding scheme, and domestic and international cooperation," BRIN's Research and Innovation Utilization Acting Deputy, Mego Pinandito, noted through a written statement on Saturday.

Sustainable energy transition became one of the three priority sectors within Indonesia's G20 Presidency, he noted. Indonesia encourages the G20 to play a part in ensuring the availability of affordable clean technology.

Related to the energy sector, Indonesia still requires a variety of technologies to develop existing natural resources.

The study of energy transition from the social, economical, cultural, and financial perspectives is also necessary as Indonesia has local wisdom within the context of energy and its utilization.

Sustainable energy transition is also discussed within the Science 20 (S20) Program. The S20 is an engagement group activity, as part of the series of the G20 events, that discusses main science-related issues.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) also highlights sustainable energy transition within the S20.

Earlier, the Indonesian government had invited nations within the G20 to reach a global agreement by expediting the energy transition program. 

Indonesia has unveiled the G20 Energy Transition to connect and push for advancing and developing nations to accelerate the transition from fossil fuel to clean energy as well as to bolster the sustainable global energy system.

The G20 Energy Transition was unveiled as a part of Indonesia's G20 Presidency from December 1, 2021, until the G20 Summit in November 2022.

The energy transition pillar will bring up three priority issues: access, technology, and funding//ANT

Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate. (kominfo.go.id) - 

The government will make the most of the G20 Presidency to showcase Indonesia's leadership in guiding recovery from the pandemic's impacts through technological utilization, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate stated.

"For the Indonesia G20 Presidency, the government has determined three national priorities," he noted during the "Indonesia Capital Market Investors Gathering: Investing and Trading Summit" webinar on Friday.

Through a press statement, Plate noted that these three priorities comprised a more inclusive global health architecture, digital transformation, specifically digital economy, and energy transition-related agenda.

Amid the global dynamics, such as the limitation of the world's fiscal space, climate change, and geopolitics, Plate is optimistic that the condition in Indonesia would be relatively different.

In Indonesia, the countercyclical policy through fiscal stimulus to support transformation at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic had yielded good results, and this becomes a topic of discussion at the 2022 G20 forum.

The government has sought to increase investment in the productive sector and develop the digital economy, the minister stated.

"To this end, we prepare the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) priority in three sectors of connectivity and post-COVID-19 recovery, digital literacy and competency, and cross-border data flow and free-flow with trust," he remarked.

Plate deemed that the digital economy sector held vast potential.

In 2021, the valuation of Indonesia's digital economy transactions, based on the gross merchandise value (GMV), was worth US$70 billion, a 49-percent increase from the valuation in 2020.

In 2025, the size prognosis from Indonesia's digital economy was estimated to be US$146 billion, or a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent as compared to that in 2021.

Meanwhile, in 2030, Indonesia's digital economy prognosis is estimated to rise by two folds as compared to the forecast of US$316 billion in 2025//ANT

Establishment of the special sea and air surveillance team for foreigners (Timpora) in Labuan Bajo. (ANTARA/HO-Labuan Bajo Immigration Office/rst) - 

Labuan Bajo Immigration Office in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, formed a special sea and air surveillance team for foreigners (Timpora) there since domestic and foreign visitors frequent the Labuan Bajo tourism area.

Sub-section Head for Information Technology, Intelligence, and Immigration Enforcement at Labuan Bajo immigration office Christian Prantigo stated that his side needed to form a team to monitor foreigners in the area that came to travel, invest, and also set up various businesses in the tourist area.

"The West Manggarai area, especially Labuan Bajo, is a very strategic place since it has vast tourism potential," Prantigo noted in a statement here on Saturday.

The surveillance team was formed with the objective of preventing illegal acts that could endanger security and order, especially owing to the wide area of the Labuan Bajo waters that had to be supervised, Prantigo added.

Meanwhile, immigration analyst at the Labuan Bajo Immigration Office Seto Sumirat stated that the team was formed based on Article 69 of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration.

"To conduct immigration supervision of foreigners' activities in the Indonesian territory, it is necessary to form a foreigner surveillance team. This effort aims to facilitate coordination and cooperation for the air and land supervision of foreigners," he explained.

The team was also established to discuss steps for collaboration to deal with major activities, such as the G20 event and the MotoGP event, which will bring in several foreign tourists to Labuan Bajo.

Meanwhile, Head of the Immigration Office of Labuan Bajo Jaya Mahendra when contacted via telephone expressed optimism that this cooperation would continue to run, so that synergies between agencies in monitoring foreigners' activities in West Manggarai can be managed, especially for foreigners' movement on land and in water//ANT