VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo has said the current public health and economic crises are an opportunity for Indonesia to push the reset button and make a quantum leap through big vision, big transformation, and big actions.

Indonesia has been making favorable progress in handling the public health and economic crises caused by the ongoing global pandemic, he said at the World Economic Forum Special Virtual Meeting on Indonesia on Wednesday.

"Firstly, in the health sector, Indonesia is striving to halt the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak by increasing the recovery rate; reducing the mortality rate, and accelerating the preparation for conducting a massive vaccination program," President Jokowi said.

Joining the meeting via video conferencing from the Bogor Presidential Palace, he said Indonesia has made better progress in COVID-19 handling, as seen in both infection and recovery rates.

The percentage of Indonesia's active cases has been recorded at 12.68 percent, which is lower than the world's average rate of 27.9 percent, Widodo noted.

Indonesia’s recovery rate has also shown a good trend, reaching 84.09 percent, or above the world's average rate of 69.61 percent, he said, adding that Indonesia has been trying to reduce the COVID-19 mortality rate as well.

Regarding the country's preparations for its mass vaccination program, President Jokowi said Indonesia is collaborating with various parties to meet its demand for COVID-19 vaccines.

Besides working with several global pharmaceutical companies, Indonesia is also working on accelerating its domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines.

"We have state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma, the biggest vaccine producer in Southeast Asia, which has supplied vaccines to many countries. We are making an immediate endeavor to increase our production capacity to up to 250 million doses a year," he said.

Meanwhile, in the economic sector, Indonesia is also striving to minimize the socio-economic risks on account of COVID-19 by launching a variety of social safety net programs for poor and vulnerable groups, he added.

The social safety net and economic recovery programs launched by the government include the Family Hope Program (PKH), Non-Cash Food Assistance Program (BPNT), Staple Food Aid Program (Sembako), Cash Social Transfer Program (Bansos), Pre-employment Card Program (KPK), Direct Cash Assistance of the Village Funds (BLT Dana Desa), Presidential Assistance for Productive Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, wage subsidy, and discounts on electricity bills.

Indonesia is not just striving to respond to and manage the crises, he said.

"Instead, we are also making the condition be a momentum to hack the crises," he remarked.

ANTARA has reported that Indonesia's economic contraction reduced from -5.32 percent in the second quarter to -3.49 percent in the third quarter.

COVID-19 initially emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 and spread across the world, including to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Indonesia made an official announcement on the country's first confirmed cases on March 2 this year.

The Indonesian government has consistently expressed confidence in the potential of COVID-19 vaccines for helping win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has posed a serious threat to public health and the economy. (Antaranews)

The role of the media as a driver of change is crucial in realizing the ASEAN integration and community building agenda. The narrative promoted by the media contributes towards shaping public opinion. This was stated by Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi in his remarks at the opening of the 4th ASEAN Media Forum 2020 held virtually more recently. He added that during the pandemic, journalists and editors have an important role in exercising responsible journalism.  

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“...The pandemic has demonstrated, more than ever, the important role journalists and editors play in exercising responsible journalism by eradicating misinformation that may cause confusion and panic in the society. As such, we depend on you in helping us to inform, educate, and empower the peoples of ASEAN.” 

Dato Lim Jock Hoi further said that he also welcomes the media views and ideas in helping the ASEAN Secretariat better support the media role in conveying the ASEAN story to a wider audience. 

The ASEAN Media Forum (AMF) is a platform for senior editors to come together with ASEAN leaders to discuss vital issues affecting the region. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event took place online. This year’s topic focused on, among others, the COVID-19 pandemic and ASEAN’s recovery framework.