VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI, Jakarta - To own a car in Singapore, a buyer must bid for a certificate that now costs $106,000, equivalent to four Toyota Camry Hybrids in the U.S., as a post-pandemic recovery has driven up the cost of the city-state's vehicle quota system to all-time highs.

Singapore has a 10-year "certificate of entitlement" (COE) system, introduced in 1990, to control the number of vehicles in the small country, which is home to 5.9 million people and can be driven across in less than an hour.

The quota, offered through a bidding process, has made it the most expensive city in the world to buy a car, with the COE for a large car more than quadrupling from 2020 prices on Wednesday to a record S$146,002 ($106,376.68).

Including COE, registration fees and taxes, a new standard Toyota Camry Hybrid currently costs S$251,388 ($183,000) in Singapore, compared with $28,855 in the U.S. A small, government-subsidised flat in Singapore costs about S$125,000

In 2020, when fewer people in Singapore were driving, the price of COEs dropped to about S$30,000; a post-COVID increase in economic activity has led to more car purchases while the total number of vehicles on the road is capped at about 950,000. The number of new COEs available depends on how many older cars are deregistered.

The skyrocketing price puts cars firmly out of reach of most middle-class Singaporeans, putting a dent in what sociologist Tan Ern Ser said was the "Singapore Dream" of upward social mobility - having cash, a condominium and a car.

The median annual household salary in Singapore is S$121,188.

Singaporeans have been battered by persistent inflation and a slowing economy, and some are selling the cars they bought when COE prices were low to make a profit.

"There is a need to lower one’s aspiration from achieving the 'good life' to settling with a 'good enough life'," Tan said.

Jason Guan, 40, an insurance agent and father of two, said he bought his first car, a Toyota Rush, for S$65,000 in 2008, including the price of the COE.

Now Guan lives without a car, focusing on other perks that Singapore offers for his family.

"As a family man, it doesn’t affect me much as Singapore still has a good and stable education system. In terms of security, it's still one of the safest countries," he said. (Reuters)

VOI, Jakarta - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has urged state universities (PTN) in Indonesia to open archeology study programs.

"There are currently only six PTNs with archeology study programs. We want to encourage them to help open archeology departments in other campuses, especially PTN-BH (Legal Entities)," BRIN head Laksana Tri Handoko said at an event held to mark the 20th anniversary of the discovery of Homo floresiensis fossils, which was followed online from Jakarta on Wednesday.

BRIN hopes that PTNs will strive to open archeology study programs, which are often considered to be devoid of interest, he added.

BRIN has prepared a forum for archeology study program graduates by opening a number of new research sites such as the Lematang River Basin Site (DAS) in Bumiayu, Central Java, and the Bongal Site in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra, he informed.

"So they don't need to be confused, just follow along. The cost is high to carry out excavations, we are already there, they just have to join in," he said.

Handoko added that his agency has devised a special mechanism to allow archeologists and campuses to work and carry out research with the support of equipment and a sustainable budget.

Considering the several efforts that BRIN will make to encourage PTNs to open archeology study programs, he hoped that archeology study programs can become favorites in the future.

He explained that archeology study program graduates would later be involved in different excavation projects, along with around 150 more senior archeologists.

"The plan is for two teams. Later, if it gets bigger, the students have learned, then the core team can be split again. Create a new area in Makassar, for example, or elsewhere," he said.

This effort is important to support Indonesian archeologists as well as pass down the legacy of previous generations of archeologists, he added.

"Without you (archeologists), we can't do anything. We can't let archeologists run out after you retire. That's why we are encouraging the opening of archeology study programs, if necessary, in all PTN-BH," said Handoko.

The six PTNs that are currently running archeology study programs are Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Udayana University in Bali, Hasanuddin University (Unhas) in Makassar, University of Indonesia (UI) in Depok, Haluoleo University (UHO) in Kendari, and Jambi University in Jambi. (ANTARA News)

Pakistan's threat to forcibly expel illegal Afghan immigrants is "unacceptable", a spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul said on Wednesday, adding that Afghans were not to blame for Pakistan's security problems.

Estimating that there were 1.73 million Afghan immigrants living in Pakistan without any legal status, Pakistan's caretaker government on Tuesday set a Nov.1 deadline for them to leave or face forcible expulsion.

"The behavior of Pakistan towards Afghan refugees is unacceptable," Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

To help justify the crackdown, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti alleged that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 out of 24 suicide bombings in Pakistan this year.

The Taliban spokesman rejected that claim.

"The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan's security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them," Mujahid said.

Pakistan's ultimatum to the immigrants, most of whom have been living in the country for years, came after a meeting of civil and military leaders to review the law and order situation following two suicide bombings on Friday that killed at least 57 people. Bugti said one of the suicide bombers was an Afghan national, and he also accused India's intelligence agency of involvement.

Relations between the Taliban and the Pakistan government have deteriorated markedly, with border clashes temporarily closing the main trade route between the neighbours last month.

Islamabad alleges that the militants use Afghan soil to train fighters and plan attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban denies those accusations, saying Pakistan's security problems are home-grown.

A caretaker government was installed in August to guide the Pakistan through to elections expected some time in the coming months, and the military has been able to exert more influence as a result of the uncertainty and instability in the country.

(Reuters)

Foreign military forces cannot stay in the Maldives, president-elect Mohamed Muizzu told a rally celebrating his victory in closely watched weekend presidential elections that are expected to redraw ties with India and China.

Muizzu, who beat incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in a second-round runoff on Saturday, is backed by a coalition known to be close to China, and championed an "India Out" campaign a few years ago, against a small unit of Indian military.

"All the countries which agree to our pro-Maldives policy will be our close friends and allies," Muizzu told supporters at Monday's event.

"We will send back foreign soldiers in the Maldives," he added, without naming any country.

In the past his party has viewed India's overwhelming influence as a potential threat to sovereignty and Muizzu accused the South Asian nation of aiming to establish a permanent military presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

India, with traditionally close ties to Male, denies that assertion, and is helping to build a naval harbour for Maldivian forces to be trained by its military.

New Delhi will "wait and watch" Muizzu's policies, a senior Indian government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"He has to work with us, and we have to work with him," the official added, emphasising that India was "not anti-Maldives".

Solih, who championed an "India First" policy, continues in office until Muizzu is inaugurated on Nov. 17.

(Reuters)