VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. India reported another record number of new COVID-19 infections on Friday with daily deaths also hitting their highest in more than five months as the country battles a second wave of infections and states complain of a persistent vaccine shortage.

The world’s second most-populous country reported 131,968 new infections and 780 deaths on Friday - the biggest daily increase since mid-October.

That took India’s overall caseload to 13.06 million - the world’s third-highest after the United States and Brazil - and total deaths from COVID-19 to 167,642. India’s total number of infections inched closer to Brazil’s 13.28 million.

With several states having expanded curbs to control the rapid spread of the virus, migrant workers have started packing into trains towards their villages from major cities such as Mumbai, potentially risking a wider outbreak in smaller towns.

The government blames the resurgence mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks as businesses gradually reopened since the middle of last year.

“We all know that it’s because of the casual approach that has been adopted unfortunately by the society and some sort of laxity everywhere in following the discipline of the COVID- appropriate behaviour,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told a news conference.

He said on Thursday there was no shortage of shots for the groups eligible for vaccination, with more than 43 million doses in stock or in the pipeline. India has been inoculating about 4 million people a day.

The surge in cases has been far sharper than last year, triggering widespread calls for the vaccination of younger people. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi rejected the idea on Thursday, citing the need to prioritise the more vulnerable, elderly population.

Inoculations are currently limited to those aged over 45 and health and frontline workers.

Much of the country has fallen behind safety protocols, the most glaring example being election rallies, where politicians including Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah have greeted hundreds of thousands of supporters, most of whom were not wearing masks.

The government has refused to impose another national lockdown, but Modi said night curfews were an effective way to keep people alert. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Singapore’s typically staid politics has been unsettled by an announcement from the chosen successor for prime minister that he was taking himself out of the running, renewing questions over the city-state’s leadership planning.

Stability has long been one of wealthy Singapore’s greatest strengths, making it a haven for investors and businesses in a region where political upheaval is not uncommon.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, whose promotion to deputy prime minister in 2019 put him first in line for the top job, said on Thursday he wanted to make way for someone younger because the COVID-19 pandemic meant he would be too old to take over by the time the crisis had settled.

“The lack of clarity can be challenging for it may indicate uncertainty and potential instability in future,” said Eugene Tan, a former nominated member of parliament.

The pandemic has pushed Singapore, which thrives on open trade and finance, into its worst recession even though it has managed to virtually eliminate the virus with border controls and contact-tracing.

The country was already facing problems of an aging population, rising protectionism and the need to reshape the economy to focus on technology.

“As the Singapore model itself faces pressures for change, so does its politics,” said Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia.

A younger team from the “fourth generation” of leaders since independence in 1965, or 4G, has to choose a replacement for Heng and give that person enough time to prepare. Heng, who turns 60 this year, had led the team since 2018.

Chan Chun Sing, trade and industry minister, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung and Lawrence Wong, the education minister and co-head of a virus-fighting taskforce, are seen as strong contenders for the job, analysts say.

“Succession remains an urgent task and cannot be put off indefinitely,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 69, said after Heng’s announcement.

Lee said he was hoping a new leader would be identified before the next general election, due by the end of 2025.

Lee, who had previously dropped a plan to retire by 70 to see Singapore through the pandemic, will remain until a successor is chosen.

“I have no intention of staying on longer than necessary,” said Lee, who has twice survived cancer.

‘VOTERS’ VIEWS’

Lee’s People’s Action Party (PAP) has ruled since independence. Singapore has only had three prime ministers, including Lee’s father and founding father, Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee Kuan Yew’s successor, Goh Chok Tong, was identified five years before he took over. The younger Lee was groomed for the top office long before he took over in 2004.

The process of selecting leaders within the PAP is opaque but that may be changing.

“If there is a lesson to be learnt from the past processes, though, it may be that greater account needs to be taken of what voters’ views are,” said Garry Rodan, honorary professor of political science at the University of Queensland.

In a general election last year, the PAP recorded its worst-ever result, with Heng himself scraping through with only 53% of votes in his constituency.

Analysts said the result cast a pall over Lee’s hope to secure a mandate for the next generation and raised questions over whether there was a long-term decline in PAP support.

Still, the PAP holds an overwhelming majority in parliament. Experts do not see much risk of Singapore heading into a political crisis or leadership change bringing any major shifts in policy.

But with no obvious 4G leader, the process of finding a new one could itself carry danger for the party.

“The PAP risks looking weak as the leadership transition gets delayed,” Inderjit Singh, a former PAP lawmaker told Reuters in emailed comments.

“I hope the 4G leaders realise that the future of the PAP is at risk should they not show strong unity.” (Reuters)

Jakarta. Britain will allow Myanmar’s ousted ambassador to stay on while he decides his future after being locked out of his own embassy, it said on Friday.

“We condemn the way the Myanmar military in London barred their ambassador from entering the embassy yesterday evening,” the Foreign Office said.

“We pay tribute to the courage of Kyaw Zwar Minn in standing up for the people of Myanmar. Given the bullying behaviour towards Mr Minn, we are seeking to ensure he can live safely in the United Kingdom while he decides his long-term future.” (Reuters)

Jakarta. Gregorius Hide, a 70-year-old farmer in the eastern Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, said the only warning he had of an approaching swirl of muddy water that engulfed his district this week was a smell of wet earth shortly before it hit.

Tropical cyclone Seroja, one of the most powerful cyclones ever to hit Indonesia, struck on Sunday killing 163 people, mostly on the islands of Lembata, Alor and Adonara, among the poorest and least developed parts of Indonesia.

The sprawling archipelago, which is made up of more than 17,000 islands, is used to dealing with disasters ranging from earthquakes to volcanic eruptions. But cyclones of this power have been rare, leaving many areas poorly prepared.

“There were no government warnings in the village,” said Gregorius, recounting how he managed to flee with his family before returning to help treat injured neighbours and assist those who had lost everything.

Authorities will need to learn fast from the disaster since Indonesia’s weather agency (BMKG) has warned once-rare tropical cyclones are happening more often, with another potentially damaging cyclone due to hit this week.

Activists and researchers point to a slow response to Seroja, with little early warning infrastructure in place.

“We should’ve evacuated faster, like predicting when it would happen, who to evacuate,” said Dominikus Karangora of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), a non-governmental group, in East Nusa Tenggara.

Some residents used traditional means to warn people, with reports of mosques using loudspeakers and church bells to warn of imminent danger.

Indonesia’s weather agency feeds warnings to local disaster mitigation agencies and also provides warnings on its website.

Isyak Nuka, head of the disaster mitigation agency in East Nusa Tenggara, said such measures were usually effective, but the scale of flash floods and landslides was “unprecedented”.

Isyak pledged to use this disaster as a lesson to strengthen the system.

Erma Yulihastin, a climatologist at the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space, said Seroja was an anomaly in its destructive force since such cyclones do not usually gain traction in a country straddling the equator.

“Tropical cyclones don’t happen that much, but when they happen the damage is extraordinary,” she said.

Agie Wandala Putra, a researcher at BMKG, said Indonesia’s preparedness was currently skewed towards guarding against disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis and needed to put more attention on events like flooding, cyclones and droughts.

“What needs to be emphasized is not just early warning, but also our response capacity,” he said. (Reuters)