VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has called on the people to cast their votes in the general elections scheduled to be held on April 17.

"We should use the legislative election and presidential election as a medium to show our maturity, and to think with common sense," the council's Head of International Relations Muhyidin Junaidi said in Jakarta on Monday.

He called on people to maintain unity and not be divided because of different political choices.

People should behave maturely to recognize the results of the election. "Do not use the legislative and presidential elections as a medium to divide people. Differences in choices are inevitable, but this should not divide the nation."

"The Indonesian Ulema Council will pray for smooth and peaceful elections, Insya Allah (God willing)," he said.

Muhyidin reiterated that people should not abstain from voting, as it is not allowed in Islam.(ant)

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya here, Friday , launched the Aceh Calendar of Events 2019 to promote tourist attractions of the country's westernmost province of Aceh Darussalam.

Acting Governor of Aceh Nova Iriansyah remarked that the launch of the Aceh Calendar of Events demonstrated the Aceh provincial government's commitment to supporting the central government's tourism program.

"The launch of the Aceh Calendar of Events 2019 is a proof of our seriousness in supporting the government's program to achieve the target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia," Iriansyah noted here, Saturday.

The calendar of events comprises 10 top events of Aceh and 90 major events of the province.

The 10 top events include the Aceh Culinary Fest 2019, Saman Gayo Alas Fest, and Aceh Diving Fest, which have been part of the "100 Calendar of Events Wonderful Indonesia 2019."

"The Light of Aceh" is the branding of Aceh tourism and co-branding of Wonderful Indonesia.

As one of the world’s best Halal cultural destinations, Aceh has become a halal tourism destination that has met the standard of Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI), and it is in accordance with the standard of the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).

The Aceh Administration has improved facilities and infrastructure to support the tourism industry.

He has urged the central government to encourage the opening of new flight routes connecting Aceh with Malaysia and Thailand, in particular, and to build a commercial airport in Sabang on Weh Island, one of the most scenic islands in Aceh Province. (ant)

Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Indonesia Vincent Guérend stated that the EU market, comprising 28 member states, is completely open to palm oil.

"We should not forget the big picture. The EU market (28 member states) is completely open to palm oil. There is no such thing as a ban on palm oil," Guérend noted in a statement received here on Friday.

This delegated European Commission regulation is neither the beginning nor the end of a policy process, rather it is just one more step on a long and collective journey towards sustainable development and carbon neutrality, Guérend remarked.

The EU is the second-largest market for Indonesian palm oil, after India but before China.

Most of Indonesia's palm oil enters the EU with zero or very low tariffs, specifically 22 percent at zero duty and 55 percent below 5.1 percent. The same cannot be said for other importing markets, Ambassador Guérend pointed out.

"As a defender of the rules-based order, we comply with the WTO rules and abide by its rulings," he noted.

In this regard, the EU views RED II and the delegated act as being WTO compatible since RED II establishes sustainability criteria for biofuels and biomass that are global, objective, and non-discriminatory, the ambassador stated.

These sustainability criteria do not single out any specific biofuel or feedstock.

The REDII sustainability criteria identify sustainable biofuels that are eligible for public support or accounted against the EU and national renewable energy targets.

They do not limit the market access of imported biofuels to the EU, Ambassador Guerend remarked.

He revealed that the EU is committed to implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, both in its internal and external policies. This is joint endeavor for the EU, all EU member states, and Indonesia.

Our doors have always been open and will remain so for frank discussion and dialogue with the Indonesian government and other stakeholders on this issue, the ambassador stated.

"We also expect that the establishment of a joint working group between the EU and relevant ASEAN member states to address issues relating to palm oil will serve as another avenue for discussions," Ambassador Guerend remarked.  (ant) 

The European Union (EU) is committed to ensuring the sustainability of bioenergy, and is advancing toward its 2020 and 2030 energy and climate targets.

"We also continue to build an Energy Union with secure, affordable and sustainable energy," Ambassador of the EU to Indonesia Vincent Guérend said in a statement here on Friday.

As part of our comprehensive policy framework, a new binding, renewable energy target for the EU for 2030 of at least 32 persons was agreed upon between the European Parliament and the EU Member States in June last year through the adoption of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII).

Biofuels are an important element of the EU’s renewable energy policy. However, rules are needed to ensure the production of feedstock for biofuels is sustainable and does not cause deforestation through indirect land use change (ILUC), Guerend remarked.

The Renewable Energy Directive (a modality of the EU law), which is already in force, therefore includes a new approach, ensuring that crops used for the production of biofuels are not sourced from recently deforested areas or peatlands – no matter where they are produced – and they have not merely displaced other production to high-carbon, high-nature value areas, elsewhere either, Guerend said.

He said that no specific biofuel or feedstock is targeted. All vegetable oils are treated equally. Palm oil is not identified as a bad biofuel.

The Directive mandates the gradual reduction of certain types of biofuels in keeping with the renewable energy targets, Guerend said.

For the implementation of this directive, the European Commission adopted on March 13 a delegated act (a European Commission Regulation), as requested by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (the EU Institution representing Member States).

Both institutions have, during a two-month scrutiny period, a right to express objections, after which, if none are received, the text will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, he said.

The delegated act, accompanied by a report, is based on the best available scientific data (2008-2015). The reference period starts in 2008 because this is the cut-off date contained in the EU sustainability criteria for biofuels. The year 2015 has the latest available consistent data.

The data shows that palm oil has been associated with the highest level of deforestation and over the period 2008-2015, 45 percent of the expansion of palm oil took place in high carbon stock areas, he said.

This is not comparable to other feedstock. Palm oil that is certified as low ILUC risk can continue to benefit from incentives. Exemptions, for example, include planting on unused lands. Another exception is for smallholders, noting the importance of smallholders in Indonesia and Malaysia.  

Guerend said that the delegated regulation has set a threshold of two hectares for smallholders to ensure that their tenure and independence over land is secured.

This finding is based on the FAO smallholder farmers' data portrait - which provides a comprehensive, systematic and standardized overview of the profile of smallholder farmers across the world. Palm oil farms with 25 or 50 ha cannot be deemed "small" or family-run anymore; they would typically employ 5 to 10 professional full time workers.

Indeed, the productivity factor of palm oil is higher than that of other crops but the factor used in the formula to determine the ILUC is calculated based on the energy content of traded products of different annual crops such as soy, rape seed and sunflower, compared to palm oil.

The European Commission will reassess the data, and if appropriate, the methodology in 2021 and will carry out a revision of the delegated regulation in 2023. At that moment, any efforts undertaken by Indonesia (such as a revamped  ISPO, the moratorium, the one map policy, or the recently adopted national action plan) will be taken into account, Ambassador Guerend said. (ant)