VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The international community must work together innovatively and adaptivelyto prevent and overcome the increasing funding of terrorism, Indonesian Vice Minister forForeign Affair A.M. Fachir said during the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on "Threats to International Peace and Security caused by terrorist acts: Preventing and Combating the Financing of Terrorism", at the UN Headquarter, in New York, Thursday (March 28).

In front of the UN Security Council members, Fachir reaffirmed Indonesia's full commitment in the efforts to prevent and combat terrorism and terrorism funding, the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement published on the ministry's official website on Sunday.

In the Open Debate moderated by French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Fachir reminded that the terrorism act in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019, proved that no country could be free from the threat of terrorism.

He particularly welcomed the commitment to increasing international cooperation, including the adoption of Resolution 2462 concerning Preventing and Countering Financing of Terrorism, where Indonesia was one of the co-sponsor countries.

He further stressed the importance of adopting and implementing various international commitments such as the Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, various related UNSC Resolutions, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations under the laws and regulations of each country.

The Deputy stressed the importance of increasing the adaptation of the international community in responding to various technological developments in the fields of finance and information, through firm, flexible, innovative, and practical policies.

In addition, Fachir encouraged to improve global cooperation, among others, through information exchange, technical assistance, capacity building of law enforcement officers and financial intelligence units, and coordination between relevant UN agencies and committees, including consultation and synergy with FATF.

He also shared Indonesia's experience in putting collaborative efforts to combat terrorism, such as organizing the Counter Terrorism Financing Summit to conduct regional risk assessments and analyze the threats and impacts of terrorism funding in the Asia Pacific region.

"Indonesia keeps increasing the capacity of its legal instruments and infrastructures, among others through the National Strategy (National Strategy) for Crime of Terrorism Funding and by strengthening cooperation between ministries, institutions and private sectors", Fachir said. (ANTARA)

The Environment and Forestry Ministry's Post Command for Forest Fire Control has continued its routine and integrated patrols to anticipate hot spots indicating of forest and land fires as moderate El Nino is expected to develop from April until July 2019.

The post command had extinguished hot spots to prevent forest fires in several provinces, Raffles B Panjaitan, the ministry's director of forest and land fire control, said in a statement here on Saturday.

They are conducting routine patrols among other things in the provinces of North Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi.

Integrated patrols are being carried out in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan Provinces.

In West Kalimantan, they patrolled 150 villages during March 1-30, 2019. In Central and East Kalimantan Provinces, they are expected to cover 36 villages during patrols to be conducted on March 25 to April 13, and again on April 21 until 30, 3019.

In the provinces of Riau and Riau Islands, they have been carrying out routine patrols and extinguished hot spots among other things in Pekanbaru, Indragiri Hulu and Dumai in Riau Province, as well as in Sei Harapan protected forest in Riau Islands Province.

Riau has declared forest fire emergency status since February 19, 2019 to October 31, 2019 (255 days), and West Kalimantan from February 12 to December 31, 2019 (323 days).

Based on Landsat imagery data, forest and land fires have gutted a total of 5,776 hectares of land.

Based on field observations, however, 3,765 ha forest and land areas were gutted by fires.

Of the total 3,765 hectares of land, 10.80 ha were in Aceh; 471.50 ha in North Sumatra; 2,778,.9 ha in Riau, 113 ha in Riau Islands, 30.05 ha in Jambi, 0.25 ha in South Sumatra, 243.03 ha in West Kalimantan, 25.40 ha in Central Kalimantan, 83.48 ha in East Kalimantan, and 10 ha in South Sulawesi. (ANTARA)

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) launched stamps depicting the four pillars of the MPR, in order to propagate the pillars.

The four stamps featured the Pancasila principles as the basis and state ideology, the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), and the symbol of the Garuda Pancasila with Unity and Diversity (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) as the country's motto).

The stamps issued  by the MPR in cooperation with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, PT Pos Indonesia, and Peruri, were officially launched at the  Parliament Building Complex, Jakarta, Friday (3/29).

Present during the event were MPR Secretary General Dr. Ma'ruf Cahyono, Director of Communication and Information of PT Post Indonesia Ikhsan Baidirus, a director of the Peruri Fadel, and Jakarta Regional IV Head of PT Pos Indonesia Onni Hadiyono. Also present were a number of bloggers and philatelists.

Cahyono said that for the first time, the four MPR pillars have been included on stamps. The launch of the stamps was also part of MPR's efforts to popularize the Four MPR pillars.

"Stamps with the 4 MPR Pillars have an extraordinary meaning. These stamps are ideological. Stamps contain the Preamble of  UUDs, the NKRI and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. This is in accordance with the MPR mission to take the four pillars to all levels of the society," he added.

Meanwhile, Director of the Communication and Information Post Ikhsan Baidirus said that the four MPR pillars are Indonesia-based platforms. "The Four MPR Pillars are part of the philosophy of the nation and the state and it is appropriate and suitable to glorify this state platform. One of them is in the form of stamps," he said.

According to Baidirus, stamps became ambassadors projecting the Indonesian nation to the whole world. So, stamps are very important and strategic. Therefore, the process (to be followed) before entering a stamp is not easy.

"We are very selective with images placed on stamps. The message conveyed on the stamps must be able to represent Indonesia. Therefore, it is essential to provide a very good, noble and beneficial place for the Four Pillars of the MPR on stamps," he continued.

In his report, MPR RI Head of Public Relations Siti Fauziah said that so far MPR has popularized the Four Pillars of MPR through various methods, including competitions for elementary and junior high school students, quiz competitions for high school students, constitutional debates, Four Pillar Camps, outbound programs, martial arts for students, training for university lecturers, and art and culture methods. "The stamp is a new method of popularizing the four MPR pillars," he said.

On that occasion, Siti Fauziah delivered a speech thanking various parties for their support, especially the Secretary General of the MPR, the Communication and Information Ministry, PT Pos Indonesia, and Peruri. (ANTARA)

In the wake of Disaster Preparedness Day on April 26, Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has planned to involve around 50 million people in a simulation and drill to test their preparedness in dealing with catastrophes.

"This year, we have set a target of 50 million participants to join a simple simulation drill," the agency's Deputy for Prevention and Preparedness, Bernardus Wisnu Widjaja, told journalists in Jakarta on Friday.

Those participating in the simulation and drill were expected to understand threats and how to conduct a secure self-evacuation," he said

Widjaja revealed that this year's Disaster Preparedness Day would highlight the theme, "Making women the central point of disaster preparedness, and home as the first school for families to understand the concept of secure self-evacuation".  

As a result of the Lembang Fault, the West Java area of Lembang was chosen to be the center for commemorating this year's Disaster Preparedness Day. The agency will conduct its simulation and drill from there and place a mark on the Lembang Fault.

As part of the simulation program, media workers would also be trained to better understand how to securely conduct their journalistic duties in disaster-struck areas, he said.

To reduce the risks of being struck by a tsunami, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency would conduct a tree planting program in the coastal forests of West Sumatra Province, and in the Pandenglang area of Banten Province.

The trees could reduce tsunamis up to 80 percent. "These are several other programs that we must hold to deal with the rising threat of disasters caused by damage to the environment or pollution," he said.

Indonesia is prone to a variety of natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and flash floods as it lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

In 2018, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that Indonesia was hit by a total of 11,577 earthquakes, several of which led to serious casualties, with the number increasing significantly as compared to 2017. (ANTARA)