VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries seized six foreign boats that were fishing illegally in the Fisheries Management Region of the Republic of Indonesia.

“Four Vietnamese-flagged boats and two Malaysian-flagged boats were arrested by two fisheries supervision boats at the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone in the North (ZEEI) Natuna Sea and ZEEI Malacca strait on Tuesday, April 9,” stated the Acting Director General of Supervision of Marine and Fisheries resources at the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, Agus Suherman, at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The four foreign boats—BV 4939 TS, BV 5156 TS, BV 93817 TS, and BV 93816 TS— were captured at ZEEI Natuna between 8 AM and 9 AM local time by supervision boat Hiu Macan 01, which was led by Captain Samson.

He added that the boats did not have any permit from the Indonesian government and used trawl nets, which are prohibited by the Indonesian government.

“Twenty four Vietnamese crew members were arrested,” he said.

The boats were then escorted to the Supervision of Marine and Fisheries resources in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, for legal proceedings.

Meanwhile, two fishing boats from Malaysia, KM. PKFA 8888 (61.70 GT) and PKF 7878 (67.63 GT), were also captured by supervision boat Hiu Macan 02, led by Captain Ilman Rustam, at the ZEEI Malacca Straits at around 3 PM local time.

Nine Burmese crew members were escorted to the Supervision of Marine and Fisheries resources in Batam, Riau Islands.

The two foreign fishing boats violated Indonesian Law number 31 of the year 2004 regarding fisheries as amended to Law number 45 of the year 2009 with the threat of maximum six years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp20 billion.

These latest arrests are added to the list of illegal fishing boats that had been captured previously by the Ministry’s Supervision of Marine and Fisheries resources boats. From January until April 9, 2019, the ministry had captured 38 illegal fishing boats, including 28 foreign fishing boats and 10 local fishing boats.

“The total number of foreign illegal boats captured include 15 Vietnamese boats and 13 Malaysian boats,” remarked Suherman.

The ministry stated that the focus on eradicating illegal fishing in Indonesia has increased the potential of fisheries resources in the Indonesian oceans.

“In an effort to manifest sovereignty, the ministry continues to focus on eradicating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing,” said Head of Marine and Fisheries Research and Human Resources Agency at the ministry Sjarief Widjaja.

He concluded that through the eradication of IUU Fishing, fish stocks had increased significantly.

Indonesia’s potential fish resources (Maximum Sustainable Yield/ MSY) had also increased drastically to 12.5 million tons in 2016, whereas in 2013, the number was only 7.31 million tons. (ANTARA)

Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Zahra Java said she would try to adopt Indonesia's home industry programs in her country.

"We will invite the Indonesian delegation to Iran to share the best practices," Zahra said at the closing ceremony of an event on sharing the best practices of home industries here on Wednesday.

Zahra hoped that both countries could support each other with regard to women's empowerment and gender mainstreaming.

A memorandum of understanding, on the cooperation between the two countries in the areas of women's empowerment, family security and child protection, was agreed upon when the Indonesian Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, Yohana Susana Yembise, visited Iran in July 2018.

Meanwhile, Head of Planning and Data Bureau of the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Fakih Usman stated that sharing the best practices adopted over the home industry program was part of Indonesia's commitment to the Iranian government, according to the MoU.

"The Indonesian government is committed toward advancing gender equality in Indonesia," he said. (ant)

The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran visited Rembang District, Central Java, on April 9, 2019, to learn first hand the best practices in Tritunggal and Pasarbanggi villages as pilot programs on the home industry.

Meanwhile, Head of Rembang District Abdul Hafidz said the home industry program could not only increase the local economy, but also prevent women from working as migrant workers abroad.

The hundreds of trillions of rupiahs that have been rolled out by the central government for village development for almost the last five years are a manifestation of the country's presence in the development of villages and communities. President Joko Widodo said, building villages that exist throughout Indonesia, is the same as building this country.

This was conveyed by the President while attending the Indonesian Village Government National Gathering event held at the Indoor Tennis Stadium, Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

"The village is always in my mind and heart. Not because I come from the village, not only that. But in my opinion building a village means building Indonesia," he said.

For information, up to 2019, a total of Rp257 trillion in budget has been channeled by the central government to villages throughout Indonesia, reaching 74,900 villages. The budget is intended for villages to have adequate resources to develop their own territory.

"So if the government since 2015 disbursed IDR 20 trillion in village funds, 2016 IDR 47 trillion, 2017 IDR 60 trillion, 2018 IDR 60 trillion, and this year 2019 IDR 70 trillion is correct and mandatory. We have not paid attention to the village for years," he said.

The President said, the key to the success of village development also means that there are two successes in building a country. The first is that leadership that truly understands the governance that is beneath it simultaneously brings it towards the birth of innovation and progress. Then secondly, leadership that cares about the development of Indonesian human resources in all its regions, including rural areas. (biro pers ) 

 In a bid to promote and market national tourism in Thailand, the Ministry of Tourism will establish a Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer (VITO) there.

"I have decided that we should have a VITO in Thailand. We should realize this plan soon, as Thailand has many tourists," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said after opening the 2019 VITO Annual Meeting here Wednesday.

The plan to establish the VITO in Thailand is also based on the foreign exchange the country earns from the tourism sector.

"Thailand's foreign exchange earned from tourism is the highest in the ASEAN," the minister continued.

VITO's annual meeting in Batam was attended by representatives from 16 countries in 20 cities around the world. The person appointed as a VITO is a native citizen of the country concerned, and/or an Indonesian citizen who has lived in the country for decades.

The minister explained that this was essential, as every VITO needed to understand how to sell tourism according to the characteristics of the country he or she lives in. In addition, the VITO should be able to build good relations with the parties concerned.

At the meeting, Areif said the government would evaluate the performance of each VITO.

"The evaluation is based on performance. If it is less than seven, we will replace the person," the minister noted.(ant)