VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The torrent of water from incessant heavy rains, lashing since Tuesday, led to extensive flooding that inundated at least 163 homes in South Tapanuli District, North Sumatra Province.

"The number of houses submerged by the flooding has reached 163," Habibullah Harahap, the chief of Simataniari Village, Angkola Sangkunur Sub-district, stated here on Wednesday.

The floodwaters began entering the residents' homes at around 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning, as the Sangkunur and Batang Toru rivers overflowed their banks.

"In Pardomuan hamlet, 96 families are affected by flooding, while 67 families in Setia Baru are impacted. A total of 163 houses have been flooded," he stated.

The floodwaters in Pardomuan reached heights of up to two meters, while one-meter-high waters were recorded in Setia Baru.

Some 50 families were forced to flee to higher ground, he stated.

The flooding also led to elementary and junior high schools being temporarily closed, as the buildings were submerged by floodwaters reaching the height of an adult’s knee.

"Agricultural and plantation areas, measuring between 25 to 30 hectares, are also flooded," he pointed out.

Head of the South Tapanuli Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) Ilham Suhardi spoke of his plan to immediately send his team to review and evaluate the impact of the flood. (ANTARA)

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics will regulate sanctions on personal data abuse in the Personal Data Protection Bill that has just been handed to the House of Representatives. "Our fines go up to 100 billion rupiahs," said Director General of Informatics Application, Semuel Pangerapan, during a press conference in Jakarta, Tuesday.

The Ministry has not yet explained in detail the types of violations that would be subject to a maximum fine of 100 billion rupiahs.

The Director General said that fines are common sanctions within the law, regarding personal data, in any country. However, the implementation and the amount may differ in each country.

"We also have to calculate the economic impact," he said.

Minister of Communication and Information, Johnny G Plate, ensured that criminal and civil penalties contained in the regulation will be granted in accordance with the committed violations and that there is no tendency for law enforcement to lean more towards 98099.

The Personal Data Protection Bill that was handed by the government to the House of Representatives consists of 15 chapters and 72 articles.

The policies in the Bill will also apply to the financial technology sector and the Ministry ensured that they are working with the Financial Services Authority.

The Minister said that there is an urgent need for Indonesia to establish regulations with regard to personal data protection, considering that many life aspects have gone digital.

The Bill has been sent to the House, but there may be additional or fewer chapters and articles in terms of the final decision. It includes, among others, data sovereignty, data security, data ownership, data usage and data traffic between countries.

The government also ensured that the Bill would support innovation and be investment-friendly. (INE/ANTARA)

Lion Air will suspend flights on the Manado-China route in anticipation of a coronavirus outbreak. "This will take effect from February 2020. In the last few remaining days, (the flights will only operate) to take back the guests," Danang Mandala Prihantoro of the Corporate Communications Strategy of Lion Air Group, said in a statement here Tuesday.

The flights to several Chinese cities will be suspended or cancelled in stages until further.

"On the Manado-China routes, there are Manado - Tianjin - Manado; Manado - Fuzhou - Manado; and Manado - Hangzhou - Manado," Danang said.

The upcoming flights until late January will only take the Chinese back to their hometowns.

The temporary suspension is part of an anticipatory measure following a travel ban by the Wuhan authorities based on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Lion Air will monitor the situation in Wuhan, where the virus originated and will keep passengers informed about the latest updates, according to him. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry has issued a travel advisory to its nationals who intend to visit China.

"Indonesian citizens who are still at home should reconsider their plan to visit China and have the wisdom to select and respond to the circulating information related to the outbreak of 2019-nCoV," acting spokesman of the ministry Teuku Faizasyah said during a press briefing in Jakarta recently.

However, the Foreign Ministry has not yet issued a travel ban for China, Faizasyah said.

"We are only advising citizens who wish to or have plans to travel to China, to exercise caution and avoid areas which based on open information have been affected or have the potential to be affected by coronavirus," he said.

He also advised Indonesians planning to visit China to access information on the location of destination through SafeTravel application provided by the Foreign Ministry.

"Through the application, anybody can understand the extent to which the Foreign Ministry recommends those wishing to travel," he said.

The information on the application is provided based on clear criteria and open information so that it can be accounted for, he added.

In the application, Hubei Province in China where Wuhan City is located is in red, which means Indonesian citizens 'cannot' visit it due to a health threat. (ANTARA)

PT Cahaya Matahari Rembulan, an Indonesian travel agent, will send 174 Chinese tourists currently visiting Solo since January 23, Central Java, back home amid the coronavirus outbreak originating from Wuhan, a Chinese city. "At present, there are 174 Chinese tourists in Solo. We will send them back home on Wednesday (January 29)," Pupun Pantiana Gunmantono, director of PT Cahaya Matahari Rembulan, said here Tuesday.

"After their return, we will halt the tour packages indefinitely because we cannot take the risk," he said.

Initially, the travel agent planned to bring 174 Chinese tourists from Kunming on January 30, but the plan was canceled and the company refunded the tourists' money because the flights serving Solo-Kunming and Kunming-Solo were stopped after the last flight on January 23, 2020.

PT Cahaya Matahari Rembulan has been frequently taking Chinese tourists from Kunming to Solo by a chartered flight by Citiling once a week.

PT Angkasa Pura, operator of the Adi Soemarmo international airport in Solo, confirmed the temporary closure of flights from and to China.

"There are no more passengers from there (China) for now. There will be one last flight taking back Chinese passengers here," Abdullah Usman, general manager of PT Angkasa Pura office in Adi Soemarmo Airport, said.

The flights to and from China will be resumed when the coronavirus outbreak ends, he said.

"The distance between Kunming and Wuhan is a lot, but we will halt the flights, anyway," he added. (ANTARA)