VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi said that the Indonesian government encourages the use of 50 percent of local components for infrastructure development, especially railways.

"We will intensify our train manufacturing industry, so that `local content` would increase. When we built the first `local content,` it was 30 percent; now it is 40 percent; and in the near future, with our State-Owned Enterprises Minister, we will increase it to above 50 percent," Sumadi stated here on Thursday.

He noted that according to President Joko Widodo`s mandate, domestic projects must use more local components.

By using more local components, many positive impacts would be obtained, including saving a lot of foreign exchange, absorbing many local personnel, and allowing export, he further stressed.

According to him, the railway project in Palembang has reached 40 percent of local components.

Regarding the Jakarta-Surabaya semi-fast train project, Sumadi remarked that he had sought reasonable prices and participation of domestic contractors. (ant)

Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited the Lombok earthquake evacuation camp in Kekait Village of West Lombok on Tuesday.

Kalla greeted children at the camp and sang with them.

The vice president symbolically handed over the government`s assistance to the victims.

The Kekait Village square is accommodating at least 1.420 evacuees.

Kalla was accompanied by Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Social Affairs Minister Idrus Marham, Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi, and head of the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) Willem Rampangilei.

Marham said the government has provided aid worth Rp15 million to each family.

"Mr. Vice President, based on the report, 44 people died and each family would get compensation of Rp15 million. Today, the aid would be officially handed over by Mr. Vice President," Marham said.

Kalla would chair a coordination meeting on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Lombok.

Initially, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rocked Lombok on July 29 with the epicenter in North Lombok. This was followed by a 7-magnitude earthquake on August 5, which was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

On Sunday night, August 19, 2018, another earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale jolted Lombok Island again, with its epicenter in East Lombok. (ANTARA)

The Deputy Head of the Mohammed bin Naif Counceling and Care Center, Saeed Al-ogran, said that the Saudi government seeks to enhance cooperation with Indonesia on handling terrorism. "We sought to cooperate with every country on handling terrorism including with Indonesia," Saeed Al-ogran told Antara after receiving journalists and media executives from several countries in Jeddah, Saturday night (Aug 18). Several journalists and media executives are in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Saudi government to perform hajj pilgrimage in the current ritual season of 2018 or 1439 Hijri in the Holy Land of Mecca. Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have a lot of agreements in terms of security services including those on efforts to handle terrorism, he said, adding "what we are doing now is part of the agreements". If any party that has been in cooperation with the center has an intention to further activate the cooperation, they just do it according to the agreements that they have signed, Saeed Al-ogran said after introducing a number of facilities to care of ex-terrorists as the center calls them beneficiaries. Saeed pointed out earlier that the center serves as a rehabilitation center for the beneficiaries who are expected to live on the right path and become normal persons which could be accepted by their respective societies. (ANTARA)

The Indonesian Sepak Takraw Team consisting of 12 men and 12 women is ready to fight at the Asian Games arena, from August 19 to September 1 at the Jakabaring Ranau Sports Hall, Palembang, South Sumatra. The Indonesian sepak takraw team manager, Ketut Gede Wijatmika explained his team is ready to compete with 16 other participating countries to win as much gold as possible. With preparations that have been made so far, Ketut Gede Wijatmiko is optimistic that at least 1 gold medal can be reached according to the target of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Takraw Football Association (PB PSTI). The team have been groomed for eight months at Icuk Sugiarto Tranning Camp (ISTC), Sukabumi, West Java and supported by various try outs abroad. At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon Korea, Indonesian sepak takraw team only collected three bronze medals in the fifth place, while Thailand was the winner with four gold medals. (KBRN/TRANS)