VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A craftsperson tests ventilators at the Agusta MSME industry in Jakarta on April 14, 2020. (ANTARA)

Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, is pushing the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with the help of technology giant Google through the provision of features that support the sector’s operations.

On Friday, May 15, 2020, the deputy minister held a virtual meeting with representatives from Google Indonesia.

At the meeting, Google Indonesia offered assistance to the Government of Indonesia, especially to the COVID-19 Task Force, for handling the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

In a statement received here on Monday, Sambuaga said the assistance could hugely contribute to efforts against COVID-19.

"In this (pandemic) condition, the role of information technology is very important to support the government, business, and community activities. The COVID-19 outbreak must be used as a reason to move towards a more digital economic transformation, in accordance with President Joko Widodo's mandate," he stated.

To achieve that, technological support would be a decisive factor, he added and expressed his appreciation towards Google for the assistance it has provided.

He said he has asked Google Indonesia to help the government hasten the spread and use of technology in eastern Indonesia.

The Deputy Minister stated that the potential in the eastern part of Indonesia needs to be fully utilized. That way, development in eastern Indonesia can progress as quickly as the western region, ensuring better welfare for the people, he explained.

"Eastern Indonesia must continue to be encouraged and also become a priority for development, in order to achieve optimal development of the region. The potential of the region must be reflected through the welfare of its citizens. With the help of Google Indonesia, we can increase the use of technology so that eastern Indonesia can move as fast (in terms of development) as the western region," he continued.

In response, Google Indonesia has committed to continue providing assistance, both for handling COVID-19 as well as for ongoing cooperation.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade and Google will hold a technical meeting to discuss follow-up steps. (ANTARA)

APEC Illustration for travel and tourism industry. (HO-APEC Secretariat)

 Tourism officials from APEC’s member economies are intensifying cooperation to effectively mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry and pave the path to recovery.

At the APEC Tourism Working Group virtual meeting on Friday (May 15), attention was drawn to the significant impact of the pandemic on international travel and international tourist arrivals being set back by 58-78 percent in 2020.

"The tourism industry is the first sector to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and will be among the last ones to recover, as travelers become more conscious of the health risks and are discouraged by the stringent travel restrictions being implemented around the world," Senior Director of Tourism Policy and International Relations of Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Muhammad Daud stated.

"We have to assume our role by consolidating our efforts in areas where we can support businesses and communities in the region," Daud stated as noted in a press release issued by the APEC Tourism Working Group and received here on Monday.

The Asia-Pacific region registered the highest growth in terms of tourist arrivals globally, with a total of 464.7 million international tourist arrivals in 2017, or some 33 percent of the global tourism arrivals. Going forward, this will no longer be the case.

"It will take a long time before confidence and trust in traveling again is restored among the people. Even if the situation were to improve, it would take a while for global travel to pick up the pace," Rebecca Sta Maria, APEC Secretariat’s executive director, noted in her remarks to officials.

"The tourism industry is the backbone for several of our small businesses, women, and vulnerable communities. We must fine-tune our approach to provide necessary support to people in our communities to navigate through these difficult times," she emphasized.

The travel and tourism sector employs 57.5 million people in the APEC region and contributes US$1.5 trillion to the global gross domestic product.

A total of 470 international airports in APEC economies facilitate business and leisure travel. The scale of the industry’s contribution to the economy makes it a crucial driver of growth for the region.

Work in promoting sustainable and inclusive tourism within APEC is ongoing, including aligning policies among member economies, facilitating travel, and streamlining coordination mechanisms.

Based on the current developments, the group is reviewing existing work plans and goals, including exploring the best-possible solutions to conform to the new normal within the tourism industry.

The group will also boost efforts to strengthen resilience in the tourism sector by incorporating risk and emergency management measures, increasing information flow for sharing best practices, and encouraging greater collaboration.

"Members are keen to open up the economy and revive the tourism sector. However, the health and safety of travelers are paramount. We need to work closely with our health and emergency preparedness agencies in developing standard procedures that will simultaneously instill confidence, encourage travel, and ensure safety," Daud emphasized.  (ANTARA)

The president during an inspection of the distribution of social assistance in Johar Baru, Jakarta, Monday (May 18, 2020). ANTARA/HO-Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat/Luke

President Joko Widodo clarified that the government had yet to issue a policy to ease large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) implemented in Indonesia to thwart the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"I want to emphasize that there is no policy on easing the PSBB," President Widodo stated in Jakarta on Monday.

The head of state delivered the statement during a limited meeting themed, "Accelerating the Handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic," with the participants comprising Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, the Indonesian Cabinet ministers and chairman of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Coronavirus Handling, as well as Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo.

"What we have prepared is only a plan or an easing scenario that will be decided after the right timing is achieved and evaluating data and facts on the field. We must be vigilant and exercise caution amid plans to ease large-scale social restrictions (PSBB)," the president reiterated.

Currently, four provinces and 22 districts and cities have enforced PSBB to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"In this week and the next, the government will continue to focus on the ban on returning to hometowns," the president remarked.

President Widodo also instructed National Police Chief General Pol. Idham Azis and TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto to strengthen the homecoming ban.

One of the instances of blatant violation of PSBB by the community was the influx of passengers at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Thursday, May 14, 2020.

PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) acknowledged that prospective passengers, generally using Lion Air, had congregated at the travel document checkpoint at Terminal 2 of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 4:00 WIB. However, AP II claimed that by around 5:00 WIB, a queue was no longer seen until Thursday afternoon.

On that day, the number of passengers increased to five thousand, the highest since May 7, 2020, when the flights resumed, although only 4,300 passengers were recorded a day before.

In addition, the community thronged street vendors at the Tanah Abang Market, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, May 17, despite the PSBB being applied in the Jakarta area.

The visitors flocked the street vendors to look at the merchandise, mostly clothing, some of which they brought for their children. The visitors seemed to not care a fig about the government's call for physical distancing.

As of Sunday (May 17), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had reached 17,514, with 4,129 people declared cured and 1,148 people succumbing to the disease, while the number of patients under surveillance (PDP) reached 35,800 and those in monitoring (ODP) totaled 270,876, with specimens of a total of 187,965 people tested.

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko emphasized that the government would encounter difficulties in countering the COVID-19 pandemic in the absence of active participation of the public.

"Without public participation, the government will face difficulties in the fight against the pandemic," Moeldoko noted in a statement here on Monday.

The presidential chief of staff commended the initiative to edify and encourage the people to become actively involved in the fight against COVID-19, including in the development of the 10 Safe Houses application in several regions.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the 10 Safe Houses Program has been developed in some cities across the country. Each of them works in accordance with the respective capacity," he remarked. (ATARA)

Photo Archive. President Joko Widodo while preparing to review the delivery of social assistance to residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic at the Bogor Post Office, West Java, Wednesday (13/5/2020). ANTARA

President Joko Widodo inspected the distribution of third phase of the food aid to beneficiary families in Johar Baru, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

"I want to ensure the distribution of staple foods to the community, especially in Greater Jakarta. The community has received food assistance," President Widodo remarked in Johar Baru, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

"The second tranche of assistance was received. Today, the third phase of aid has been received," he confirmed.

Dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt and black cloth mask, the president, accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy and Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara, inspected the distribution of basic food aid to residents.

"We hope that the assistance would be faster and smoother in future," the president stated in connection with the distribution of social assistance to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After delivering a brief statement, the president departed from Johar Baru.

The inspection of the distribution of staple food assistance in Johar Baru was the second review of the disbursal of social aid to residents impacted by COVID-19 conducted by the president.

On May 13, 2020, the president had reviewed the distribution of social assistance at the Bogor City Post Office located in proximity to the Bogor Presidential Palace.

The government conducted several social safety net programs under the efforts to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistance in the government's social safety net program amounts to Rp110 trillion.

In this case, the government has, among others, channeled financial assistance through a regular program in the form of the Family Hope Program (PKH), with a target of 10 million beneficiary families, with values varying in accordance with the familial conditions and assistance in the nine-basic necessities program valued at Rp200 thousand per family for 20 million beneficiary families.

The government has also distributed non-regular social assistance in the form of basic food aid worth Rp600 thousand per month for each family for a period of three months for 1.9 million families in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Greater Jakarta) and direct cash assistance for nine million families in Greater Jakarta.

In addition, the government has channeled assistance through the Pre-Employment Card Program for 5.6 million recipients, offering funds of Rp20 trillion for the distribution of aid under the scheme from April to December 2020.

Other social assistance provided is in the form of free electricity for 450-VA customers and a 50-percent discount for 900-VA customers for electricity usage from April to June 2020.

Furthermore, direct cash assistance worth Rp600 thousand monthly per family is provided from the village fund for 12.3 million targeted families from April to June 2020. (ANTARA)