VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The provincial government of West Java launched a digital public service mall (MPP) in Bandung city on Monday to provide easier access to services to the community.



The services can be accessed through the mppdigital.jabarprov.go.id website.



"So far, not all regions in West Java have a physical MPP. Thus, the presence of this digital MPP is to facilitate services to the community, especially in regions that have not owned MPP or only have physical MPP," head of the West Java Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office (DPMPTSP), Noneng Komara, said after the launch of the digital MPP here on Monday.



She expressed the hope that the integration of services through the digital MPP will make it easier for the community to access public services anywhere and anytime.



According to her, several other provinces have expressed their willingness to replicate the digital MPP of the West Java government.



The Ministry of State Apparatus and Bureaucracy Reform chose West Java as the pilot site for digital MPP development, she said.



Meanwhile, West Java regional secretary Setiawan Wangsaatmaja said that the launch of the digital MPP reflects West Java's strong commitment to making the public service mall more simple, fast, and more affordable.



He noted that so far, 12 districts and cities in West Java have launched a physical MPP, while the other 15 districts and cities have not.



The digital MPP has several benefits, for instance, it provides easier access to services to the community, which are also faster in terms of time, and it is also more affordable, he said.



“So, if we look at the average (cost of) construction of physical public service malls in West Java, the average figure is Rp9–10 billion per district and city. Yet, with digital public service malls, our costs will be cheaper; maybe Rp300–500 million for 27 districts/cities," the regional secretary informed. (Antaranews)

U.S. sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Tibet were illegal and seriously harmed Sino-U.S. ties, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday.

China rejects accusations that it has used harsh policies to quell ethnic dissent and control religious activities in the rugged Himalayan region of Tibet.

The comments came after the U.S. Treasury department said on Friday it imposed sanctions on Wu Yingjie, the chief of the ruling Communist Party in Tibet between 2016 and 2021, and Zhang Hongbo, a senior public security official in the region.

Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the steps were a gross interference in China's internal affairs and a violation of basic norms of international relations.

"We urge the U.S. side to immediately withdraw the so-called sanctions," he told a regular briefing.

They did serious damage to Sino-U.S. relations, Wang said, adding that China would safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

"The United States has no right to impose sanctions on other countries at every turn and is not qualified to play the world police," Wang added.

Wang also criticised comments on Saturday by Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, as being "full of lies and prejudice".

Burns had said the United States remained "deeply concerned" over what it saw as China's failure to live up to its international commitment to protect rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in areas such as Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang.

"We urge the U.S. side to stop using human rights issues to smear China, to stop using human rights issues to interfere in China's internal affairs and to undermine China's stability," Wang added. (Reuters)

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Monday said Britain would continue to respond with sanctions against Iran when its actions are unacceptable in an effort to steer the Islamic Republic in a better direction.

"Our priority is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but in parallel to that we will continue to act, to respond when Iran's actions are unacceptable," Cleverly said in answer to a question following a speech in London, giving the example of the supply of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

"We've sanctioned those involved with that, we've sanctioned those involved with the brutal suppression of protesters in Iran and we will continue to try and steer Iran into a better direction." (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran's Gulf Arab neighbours would act to shore up their security if Tehran were to obtain nuclear weapons.

Indirect U.S.-Iranian talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear pact between global powers and Iran, which Washington exited in 2018, stalled in September. The U.N. nuclear chief has voiced concern over a recent announcement by Tehran that it was boosting enrichment capacity.

"If Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off," Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in an on-stage interview at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi when asked about such a scenario.

"We are in a very dangerous space in the region...you can expect that regional states will certainly look towards how they can ensure their own security."

The nuclear talks have stalled with Western powers accusing Iran of raising unreasonable demands, and focus shifting to the Russia-Ukraine war as well as domestic unrest in Iran over the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

Though Riyadh remained "sceptical" about the Iran nuclear deal, Prince Faisal said it supported efforts to revive the pact "on condition that it be a starting point, not an end point" for a stronger deal with Tehran.

Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states have pressed for a stronger agreement that addresses their concerns about Shi'ite Iran's missiles and drones programme and network of regional proxies.

"The signs right now are not very positive unfortunately," Prince Faisal said.

"We hear from the Iranians that they have no interest in a nuclear weapons programme, it would be very comforting to be able to believe that. We need more assurance on that level."

Iran says its nuclear technology is solely for civil purposes.

A senior Emirati official said on Saturday that there was an opportunity to revisit "the whole concept" of the nuclear pact given the current spotlight on Tehran's weapons with Western states accusing Russia of using Iranian drones to attack targets in Ukraine. Iran and Russia deny the charges. (Reuters)