VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The import substitution policy is one of the four economic policies aimed at strengthening locally-made products, including those produced by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki.

"The President has even affirmed that 40 percent of the state budget (APBN) spending will be allocated to purchase domestic products from MSMEs," he said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Through the import substitution policy, Indonesia will no longer need to import products if it can make them to meet domestic needs, Masduki stated.

He also mentioned that products made by foreign companies in Indonesia should have a domestic component level of 40 percent. They are also obligated to partner with local business players.

The second policy to protect local business players is the downstreaming and industrialization of natural resources.

Masduki emphasized that the policy is not only for large-scale business players, but must also involve local MSMEs.

"This policy also prohibits the export of raw mining products; they must be processed domestically to increase added value and create jobs," he said.

The third policy is improving MSMEs' access to financing as the current share of banking credit for MSMEs is only 21 percent, which is far lower when compared to Thailand and Malaysia, where it is already above 40 percent.

Then, the fourth economic policy pertains to digital transformation, which regulates four aspects: platforms for businesses, the flow of imports of consumer goods, the trading system, and the competitiveness of domestic MSME products.

Masduki said that Indonesia should learn from China's strategy in implementing digital transformation policies. China has been able to strengthen its digital economy platforms and prevent foreign platforms from dominating its market.

However, the government policies to protect MSMEs and domestic products from the influx of cheaper products are often seen as anti-innovation and anti-technology, he noted.

"In many countries, technology has been regulated, one of which is related to the transparency of algorithms and data on the platforms," he added. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry (KLHK) Ministry shared its experience on developing the Legality and Sustainability Verification System (SVLK) with a delegation from Laos in Jakarta on Monday.

"SVLK, the Indonesian timber legality assurance system, has been key in encouraging better governance in the forestry sector, taking requirements developed by market countries into account," director general of sustainable forest management at the ministry, Agus Justianto, told the delegates from Laos.

Justianto said that SVLK has changed the image of Indonesia's forestry sector and boosted the sector's performance.

According to him, SVLK has helped Indonesia control illegal logging, which was a threat to the forestry sector in the early 2000s. The result has been a reduction in deforestation by more than 75 percent in the past three years.

SVLK has also provided guarantees to the market and increased confidence that the wood products purchased are legal and sourced from sustainably managed forests, he said.

This had an impact on the rapid performance of forestry product exports even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, the export value of Indonesian forestry products reached US$14.21 billion, the highest on record. This year, the export value of forestry products reached US$9.61 billion as of September.

SVLK was developed more than a decade ago involving multi-stakeholders ranging from the government, academics, business actors, civil society, and non-governmental organizations.

Its utilization is mandatory from upstream to downstream. To support its implementation, there are Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), which conduct audits of business units or wood products.

CABs have been carrying out this task after receiving accreditation from the National Accreditation Committee (KAN), based on the ISO17065 international standard, in 2012.

The entire process is monitored by the community and non-governmental organizations, who serve as independent monitors.

According to Justianto, SVLK played an important role in negotiating the Voluntary Partnership Agreement for Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT-VPA) with the European Union.

The system was recognized as the basis for the issuance of FLEGT licenses to the European Union so that Indonesian wood products would not require to undergo a due diligence process prescribed under the European timber regulation.

"SVLK has now included sustainability aspects in addition to legal aspects. This is a standard that is needed by the global market today," said Justianto.

The latest SVLK developments include improving traceability with geo-location. Other indicators that have also been strengthened in the SVLK transformation are worker welfare and gender issues.

Director general of the Forest Inspection Department of the Laotian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Khamphone Mounlamai, said that Laos has also developed a timber legality assurance system and hopes to reach a FLEGT-VPA agreement in the near future.

"We want to learn and exchange knowledge from Indonesia about the process," he added.

The Laotian delegation comprised officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Trade, provincial government, civil society organizations (CSOs), and business actors.

The delegation's visit to Indonesia was supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the German Development Bank (KfW), and the European Forest Institute (EFI).

During the visit, which will end on October 27, 2023, the delegation will hold meetings with the members of several business associations, such as the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI), the Indonesian Wood Panel Association (Apkindo), and the Pulp and Paper Association Indonesia (APKI).

They will also meet with CABs and independent monitoring network NGOs that have been monitoring SVLK. In addition, they will visit Surabaya and Malang in East Java to see the SVLK implementation process from upstream to downstream. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked his ranks to utilize the Socioeconomic Registration (Regsosek) data optimally in order to provide social protection to the community.

He conveyed this during a limited meeting with a number of ministers from the Onward Indonesia Cabinet to discuss Regsosek data management at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

"Starting from regular social assistance, PKH (Family Hope Program), BPNT (Non-Cash Food Assistance) and subsidies, and social security, all of them will utilize data from the Regsosek. Likewise for community empowerment in labor-intensive activities, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), human resources development, and also in social convergence," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said while issuing a press statement at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

He informed that the government will issue a presidential instruction, which will be prepared by data stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

In the future, the data produced by Regsosek will continue to be updated for social protection programs, he informed.

During the meeting, President Widodo also instructed officials to continue implementing the food aid program, namely, the provision of rice assistance, until December 2023.

The government will also implement a policy on value-added tax (VAT) on purchases of houses or property worth under Rp2 billion, Hartarto said.

"The government will fully cover VAT on property purchases under Rp2 billion until June next year, and will cover 50 percent of the VAT after June 2024," he disclosed.

Meanwhile, for low-income communities, the government will also provide administrative assistance, the minister added.

According to Hartarto, administrative assistance costs include Tax on the Acquisition of Land and Building (BPHTB) and other fees amounting to Rp13.3 million.

"The government will contribute Rp4 million for each family until 2024," he said. (Antaranews)

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams at the opening of Ubud writers and readers festival 2023 - 

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams PSM opened the panel discussion ‘Enduring Connections: Celebrating Australia-Indonesia Friendship’ on Saturday 21 October at Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2023 (UWRF).

The panel featured an impressive line-up including Janet DeNeefe - founder and director of UWRF, Riri Riza – award winning film director, Elena Williams - board member Australia-Indonesia Institute and educator, Abdi Karya - internationally acclaimed artist, and Dr. Kirrilee Hughes - education consultant and researcher.

The audience enjoyed a lively discussion on what it means for Australia and Indonesia to be close neighbours and how both countries maintain strong ties.

Touching on the long-shared history, including as far back as Makassan and Yolŋu peoples trading with each other and more recent examples such as New Colombo Plan students and Australia Award recipients, and demonstrating that people-to-people relationships are at the heart of our story.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM, said the festival is a wonderful example of strengthening mutual understanding between Australia and Indonesia.

“I am pleased the Australian Government continues to support UWRF as a cross-cultural platform to build inter-cultural understanding and long-term links between Australian and Indonesian literary communities,” she said.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday, this year’s marks the 20th anniversary of Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF). The festival continues to attract an array of Australian talent, including fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, arts managers, industry leaders and academics.

"For the last two decades, the festival has become a vessel to celebrate the quality and diversity of writers in both countries,” Ambassador Williams said.

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the Australian Consulate-General in Bali have been proud supporters of the festival since the inaugural event in 2004//VOI