VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged presidential and vice-presidential candidates to maintain a harmonious political climate ahead of the 2024 General Elections.

"I ask presidential and vice presidential candidates attending the 2022 HIPMI (Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association) National Congress in Surakarta here to maintain a harmonious political climate ahead of the 2024 General Elections, particularly amidst the vulnerable global conditions now," he said at the opening ceremony of the congress here on Monday.

While refraining from naming any particular candidate, the President said that candidates must maintain harmonious political conditions and when a conflict occurs, ensure that the friction does not escalate.

"I do not name any candidate, but it has been disclosed openly earlier by the minister of investment (Bahlil Lahadalia)," he said.

He emphasized that a heated political climate must be avoided at all costs amid the ongoing global crises, which could potentially spill over to Indonesia.

"I have said repeatedly that 14 countries potentially become World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF) ‘patients,’ and another 28 countries have lined up before the IMF," the President said.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates must also maintain a harmonious political climate by campaigning with substantial mandates instead of relying on racial or religious sentiments, which could threaten national unity, he added.

He said that he would welcome debates among candidates as well as their ideas on making Indonesia a better country.

"We must ensure that debates do not escalate nor get adorned by racial, religious, and ethnic sentiments. We must prevent this as well as the politicization of religion, of which harms we experienced and now seek to avoid," he remarked. (Antaranews)

Malaysia's palace extended a deadline for political parties to submit their prime minister candidates to Tuesday at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT), it said in a statement.

Competing coalitions were initially asked to submit candidates by 2 p.m. on Monday, after a general election resulted in a hung parliament. (reuters)

China is willing to continue to increase flights between China and Italy to facilitate personnel exchanges between the two sides, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. (Reuters)

Pakistan has reopened a major Afghan border crossing that was shut for trade and transit after security forces clashed last week, officials from both sides said on Monday.

As the crossing opened on Monday, three people were wounded in another clash reported on a northwestern border with Afghanistan, an Afghan official said.

Abdul Hameed Zehri, Deputy Commissioner of the Pakistan town of Chahman, which borders the Afghan district of Spin Boldak, said the southwestern crossing was reopened after dialogue between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban officials on Sunday.

Thousands of people and hundreds of trucks that had been stranded on both sides were able to cross the border on Monday, Zehri said.

The separate hostilities that started on Monday were in the northwestern Pakistan district of Kurram, said Munib Zadran, a police spokesman for bordering Paktia province.

A Pakistani security official said the fresh exchange of fire killed one member of border personnel and wounded nine other people.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the latest clash.

"We are going to meet senior Pakistani officials to find an amicable solution," he said.

The Pakistan military did not respond to a request for comment, but a Pakistan security official said there has been regular border management coordination with Afghan authorities, adding that details of Afghan investigations into last week's hostilities will be shared with Pakistan in due course.

Disputes linked to the miles long border have been a bone of contention between the neighbouring countries for decades. (reuters)