VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar which has penetrated the level of Rp 14,000 per US dollar raises concerns about rising inflation levels. However, Head of Center for Economics and Public Policy Studies Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, Tony Prasetiantono said that there are other things that the government should focus on foreign debt and the ability of Indonesian imports, because until now, the level of inflation in Indonesia has still been under control or has not experienced a significant increase.

“Inflation still seems not too high. Therefore once again, if you count from mathematics from 13,500 to 14,000, it's still small. I just think that is not our concern, because beyond the factor of inflation, we must be concerned on payment of foreign debt, and then our ability to import becomes weak.” Tony Prasetiantono said in a discussion held by a private radio in Jakarta recently.

In response to the impact of rupiah weakening against the US dollar on the real sector, Tony Prasetiantono remarked that the sector is still running well and does not have a significant influence, because nowadays, the producers tend to spend their stock of goods by selling to consumers using the old price. In addition, the producers will not raise the price of goods in the near future to anticipate the fall in demand from consumers that will actually harm them. (VOI/Rezha/RHM)

The weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar which has penetrated the level of Rp 14,000 per US dollar poses some problems for the Indonesian economy. One of which is that foreign investors run away from Indonesia to the countries which are considered to have better condition than Indonesia. However, the runaway of the investors doesn’t need to be worried too much. Because, some other countries that become investors’ favorite destinations also experience similar conditions with Indonesia. This was disclosed by Head of Center for Economic and Public Policy Studies of Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, Tony Prasetiantono in a discussion held by a private radio in Jakarta recently.

“Actually, the strengthening of US dollar is counterproductive. So, I'm sure it will be corrected. Then, the second conviction is that if the investors run away from Indonesia, yes they go. But after they run away, they don’t know the country where to go. They go to the USA or China. But finally, some of them are back to Indonesia. Believe me, it just takes time. Because the situation is currently unfavorable. The important thing is that they escape first from Indonesia. But after they know where to go, any investment options or country destinations also have the same problems. So in my opinion, Indonesia is still favorite as I said before,” said Tony Prasetiatono.

Tony Prasetiatono further said that Indonesia still remains a favorite country for foreign investors because it has pretty good fundamentals. These fundamentals include inflation, deficit of state budget, and economic growth. However, something to be watched out by the government is that there are fewer surpluses gained from the export activities of Indonesia and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is dominated by hot money or short-term capital flows. Therefore, the government is asked to immediately intervene against the weakening of the rupiah. (VOI/Rezha/RHM)

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council who is also concurrently serving as Deputy Chief of the Indonesian National Police-Polri, Police Commissioner General Syafruddin urged all Muslims in Indonesia to clean the heart before the coming of Ramadan. He insists, not only places of worship such as mosques that must be cleaned, but also the heart. This was disclosed after responding the possibility of mosque as a place of practical politics on the sidelines of the clean-up event of 2,000 mosques to welcome Ramadan at the Istiqlal Mosque in  Jakarta more recently.

“Yes, we are mosque administrators. We are board of Indonesian Mosque Council which only have authority, obligation, and give facility. Therefore, I urge that we are cleaning the mosque physically, as well as our heart as human beings. We are just the facilitators. We should share the same understanding, and the same thought about the mosque,”

Gen. Syafruddin added that previously, many appeals that the mosque is used as a place to convey the message of seizing political messages. Minister of Religious Affairs, Lukman Hakim Saifudin even took decisive action by banning scholars and lecturers to deliver political agenda in places of worship. According to Gen. Syafruddin, it is related to the vulnerability of places of worship to be used for political interests that have the potential to destroy religious harmony amongst the people of Indonesia. (VOI/Rezha/Ndy/RHM)

Italy responds to the challenges faced by the world today by prioritizing dialogue, justice, law and human rights. This was disclosed by Italian Ambassador to Indonesia, Vittorio Sandalli at the Italian Anniversary of Independence in Jakarta more recently. He said that Indonesia and Italy share the same values ​​in the field of peace. Both countries contribute to the UN Interim Force of Peace in Lebanon or UNIFIL. According to him, Indonesia and Italy is currently having bilateral relations at a more advanced stage. This is evident with the intensive political visits by both countries’ high-ranking state officials.

“Following the visit to Jakarta, Italian Minister of Economy  and development, Carlo Calenda was accompanied by delegations of 15 Italian major companies last May; there was a visit to Rome by Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi last Oktober. There were two visits to Italy by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ignasius Jonan, and there was a visit to Indonesia by Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs last February marking further stepping stone of our bilateral cooperation,” Vittorio Sandalli said.

Ambassador Sandalli further explained that the cooperation between the two countries is growing in various sectors. In the economic field, the two countries should facilitate economic actors to consolidate the latest trend. In the field of people-to-people contact, there are tourists visits from both countries as well as conducting an interfaith dialogue. In the field of education, Italy has doubled the number of scholarship recipients from Indonesia. In addition to Indonesia, Italy is also committed to strengthening relations with ASEAN countries. (VOI/Skr/Trans by Ndy/RHM)