VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia's free and active foreign policy puts this country in a strategic position amid global competition for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to observers.

The University of Indonesia international relations observer Shofwan Al Banna Choiruzzad assessed that it is in the interest of Indonesia and other countries in the world today to get a vaccine from whoever has developed it.

"The position of Indonesia, which is free and active, is clear [...] Our interests are not who will win or lose in this geopolitical competition, but to ensure that this great political power does not have a bad impact on us," Shofwan said.

Several countries are developing a COVID-19 vaccine, and some have entered the stage of clinical trials in humans to examine how potent the vaccine is used and how side effects it might cause - before finally being produced and used en masse.

The United States now has, at least, six vaccine candidates from six pharmaceutical companies are in the clinical trial phase. There is also a Russian with Sputnik V which was registered last August and is now ready to be tested on 55,000 volunteers.

China is also not left behind with the vaccine from the Sinovac company - which has signed a collaboration with Bio Farma and is carrying out phase III clinical trials in Bandung, including to West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil. 

"What concerns Indonesia is how to encourage international organizations to more facilitate cooperation among countries whose tendencies are competing," Shofwan added.

Paramadina University international political observer Ahmad Khoirul Umam, separately, explained that "in (vaccine) production, the fact is that Indonesia could not have sufficient logistical strength or research capacity."

"Like it or not, in international relations, we must use the bandwagoning method - by holding it to countries that have adequate research and production capacity for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine," Umam said.

Therefore, according to him, Indonesia must intensify communication with external powers, both countries, and companies from other countries, and get the transfer of knowledge and technology from them.

"And the most important part of the vaccine (procurement effort) is the transfer of knowledge and transferring technology so that Indonesia does not depend on procurement and production (from outside)," concluded Umam. (Antaranews)

The government claims that the absorption of the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program has shown improvement.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that the absorption of the PEN program funds amounted to Rp 237 trillion or 34.1 percent of the total PEN budget ceiling of Rp 695.2 trillion.

"Absorption is 34.1 percent of the year's Rp. 695 trillion. And by month to month, there is an increase of 30.9 percent," Airlangga said in a virtual press statement, in Jakarta, on Monday.

Airlangga claimed that there was an increase in budget absorption in several sectors. Namely, in the health sector 31.6 percent, social protection 62.81 percent, regional government sectoral 27.68 percent, and MSMEs 91.43 percent.

"And the first semester to the second semester in September, the absorption trend has increased by Rp237 trillion," said Airlangga.

Airlangga, who is also the Head of the Committee for Handling Covid-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), said there were increases in other sectors without mentioning the amount of budget absorption.

Airlangga also said that the government continues to push for the realization of the budget and push through tourism incentives. This budget will stream to the vaccine program.

"The President said to channel tourism incentives budget to independent vaccine procurement when the clinical trial is over," Airlangga said. (RRI)

The government is currently working to increase people's purchasing power amid the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the face of the threat of an economic recession in the third quarter of 2020.

President Joko Widodo said that his side still has time for positive economic growth and Indonesia to avoid the recession.

He said in a virtual report on COVID-19 on Monday that finally, Indonesian national economic recovery still has time until the end of September to increase purchasing power and others.

He also emphasized that programs that had been prepared by the government for economic recovery could be implemented as quickly as possible to prevent economic growth in the third quarter from contracting again. He has asked to accelerate the cash incentive program.

In the second quarter, Indonesia's economic growth contracted to minus 5.32. If in the third quarter there has been no change and the economy is still in minus, Indonesia might experience a recession. (RRI)

The government updated the COVID-19 cases toll in Indonesia. Based on data compiled by the Ministry of Health's website on Monday, over the past 24 hours, positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased by 3,141 cases.

Adding from that, the total of COVID-19 cases since early March 2020 is 221,523 cases.

The COVID-19 case has spread to 491 districts/cities in 34 provinces in Indonesia.

A number of provinces that reported the highest additional cases today are Jakarta with an additional 879 new cases, East Java 343 cases, West Java 203 cases, South Sulawesi 185 cases, and Central Java 171 cases.

Meanwhile, the number of patients who have recovered increased by 3,395 people, bringing the total to 158,405 people. However, there were also 118 people who died, bringing the total to 8,841 people. (RRI)