VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The tourism industry in Batam city, Riau Islands Province, remains vibrant amid global fear of China's novel coronavirus outbreak that has reportedly killed at least 362 people, a local government official revealed.

"Batam city's tourism industry still runs normally," Head of the Batam City Administration's Cultural and Tourism Office Ardiwinata said here on Monday.

Ardiwinata said he did not receive any information on foreign travelers wanting to postpone their visits to Batam following the new coronavirus outbreak that firstly struck the Chinese city of Wuhan several a few weeks ago.

The Chinese tourists' planned visits to Batam, Indonesia's waterfront city which shares a sea border with Singapore, had been cancelled following the Indonesian Government's temporary ban on those from mainland China for halting the spread of the deadly virus.

The number of Chinese tourists coming to Batam was not significant compared to those of Singapore and Malaysia. Therefore, this situation would not significantly affect the total number of foreign tourist arrivals in the city, he said.

The Batam City Administration has worked with related stakeholders of tourism industry to prepare a strategy for attracting more local tourists to substitute the Chinese tourists whose planned travels had been cancelled, he added.

On Sunday, President Joko Widodo held a limited meeting at the Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta with several cabinet members as well as national police and military chiefs following the evacuation of 238 Indonesians and five members of an advance team from China's Hubei Province.

Speaking to journalists following the meeting, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the Indonesian Government would have placed a temporary ban on flights to and from mainland China since 00:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

All visitors, coming in from mainland China and been there for 14 days, were also temporarily banned from entering or making a transit in Indonesia, she noted.

In the interim, the government has also put a stop to the visa-free policy and issuance of visa on arrival for Chinese nationals residing in Mainland China. Indonesian nationals are advised to not travel to mainland China.

Garuda Indonesia has suspended its flights to and from China since Wednesday at 00:00 a.m. local time to support the Indonesian government's endeavors to halt the spread of coronavirus outbreak. (ANTARA)

The East Java Police seized 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine smuggled from Malaysia and packed in a tea bag from two suspected drug dealers that the local police anti-drug squad personnel recently arrested.

"The suspects belong to a Malaysian drug ring. They have smuggled the illicit drugs into Indonesia twice," East Java Police Chief Inspector General, Luki Hermawan, told journalists in Surabaya, the capital of East Java Province, on Monday.

The suspects, identified as Chee Kim Tiong (40) and Lau Chu Hee (39), escaped the police during their first delivery but were apprehended while attempting to smuggle 15 kg of crystal meth that they packed in a tea bag, he said.

Both Tiong and Hee were believed to belong to a trans-national drug ring. They played a role in smuggling the drugs into Indonesia.

They even escorted the delivery from Myanmar to the Malaysian city of Kuching to then be transported to Pontianak, Pangkalan Bun, and Tanjung Perak Seaport in Surabaya. "We confiscated the crystal meth package at the Tanjung Perak Seaport," he said.

According to Che Kim Tiong, he was ordered by "Mr Po", a resident of Kuching, to smuggle 15 kg of crystal meth into Indonesia. He had carried out the smuggling activities once before. Each of the packages that he smuggled contained 15 kg of crystal meth.

Tiong told the police investigators that Mr Po paid him MYR40,000 or Rp133 million, while Lhau Chu Hee, who acted as a courier, received a payment of MYR7,000 or Rp23 million.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have been embroiled in a vicious circle.

Both domestic and transnational drug dealers perceive Indonesia as one of their potential markets due to its large population and millions of drug users. The drug trade in the country is estimated to reach nearly Rp66 trillion.

According to the National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report, some 50 drug use-related deaths occur in a day in Indonesia. However, their deaths have failed to deter other drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.

Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. (ANTARA)

The last flight will carry all Indonesian citizens from China before a temporary ban on flights to and from mainland China begins to take effect Wednesday, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has assured. "To carry 3,000 people, all the existing flights must be enough," he said in a press conference at the Transportation Ministry here Monday.

The flights are either scheduled or unscheduled flights and direct or indirect flights.

"Some of them are direct and others are indirect. But (some of) our residents there feel that they do not have to return home now or are still confident, so it is up to them. Surely, if after 00.00 a.m. local time Wednesday they are still there and want to return home sometime in the future we will think of how to pick them up," he said.

All airline companies including Garuda Indonesia are ready to carry Indonesians back from China, he said.

"They can choose the flight routes they usually take. For instance, Garuda will certainly fly to Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, while Lion Air and Sriwijaya will serve small cities in south China," he said.

Based on data from the Foreign Ministry, the number of Indonesians originally living in China was around 10 thousand which has now declined to nearly three thousand," he said.

"Why we want to suspend (flights from and to mainland China) as of 00.00 a.m. on Wednesday is to give a chance to Indonesian citizens in China and Chinese citizens (in Indonesia) to return home," he said.

On Sunday, President Joko Widodo held a limited meeting at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in East Jakarta with several cabinet ministers, National Police and Military chiefs following the evacuation of 238 Indonesians and five members of an advance team from China's Hubei Province.

The Indonesian government will have placed a temporary ban on flights to and from Mainland China since 00.00 a.m. local time Wednesday, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi remarked during a press conference following the meeting.

All visitors, coming from Mainland China and having lived there for 14 days, were also temporarily banned from entering or making a transit in Indonesia, she noted.

In the interim, the government has also put a stop to the visa-free policy and issuance of visa on arrival for Chinese nationals residing in mainland China. Indonesian nationals are urged to not travel to Mainland China. (ANTARA)

Acting Director General of Vocational Education Patdono Suwignjo affirmed that the industry's involvement in vocational education will improve the quality of education.

"The basic principle of Minister Nadiem Makarim is to bring the industry to schools and campuses, since the most obvious feature in several developed countries is that vocational education involves the industry. The quality of education will be good if it brings the industry to the school or campus," Suwignjo stated in Jakarta on Monday.

To this end, Suwignjo affirmed that the Ministry of Education and Culture is striving hard to bring the industry to schools and campuses.

Under the Directorate General of Vocational Education lies one directorate that handles this problem: the Director of the Partnership and Alignment of Business and Industrial World (DUDI).

"Comprehending the importance of this, the Ministry of Education and Culture has created a special directorate to handle the cooperation," he expounded.

Suwignjo noted that the industrial world had yet to feel the tangible benefits by working with schools and campuses. To this end, the educational institutions, assisted by the Ministry of Education and Culture, are tasked with convincing the industrial world that several benefits can be availed through joint collaboration.

In addition to the tax cut policy for industries involved in the development of human resources, Suwignjo believes it had yet to show optimal results.

"Maybe since it is new, so the impact has not been seen clearly. Perhaps, it will take some more time," Suwignjo expounded.

The Directorate General of Vocational Education is a new directorate during the era of leadership of Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim.

The Directorate General of Vocational Education comprises three directorates: Vocational Directorate, the Directorate of Vocational and Professional Higher Education, and the Directorate of the Partnership and Alignment of Business and Industrial World (DUDI).

The Jakarta provincial government had earlier set aside Rp2.3 trillion in funds to build 10 new vocational schools and renovate 137 school buildings this year.

"The construction of 10 vocational schools and the renovation of 137 school buildings will cost Rp2.3 trillion," acting chief of the Jakarta provincial education office Bowo Irianto noted in a short text message on Friday.

The 10 new vocational schools are deemed necessary since only 63 of the 590 vocational schools in the capital belong to the government, while the rest are run by private institutions, he added.

"Construction of the 10 new vocational schools is in line with the strategic activities and the vocational school revitalization program in the capital," he added.

Construction of vocational schools and the renovation of school buildings must be completed this year. The extension of project time will be permitted if it meets the terms and conditions.

"Hopefully, the contracts would be signed in early May at the latest," he added. (ANTARA)