VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. The Papua provincial administration is exploring cooperation with the government of Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture to develop indigenous human resources.

The first meeting between the Papua Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM) and the Fukuoka Prefecture Government's International Cooperation Agency took place online, and is expected to be followed up by the drafting of a memorandum of understanding, BPSDM head Aryoko Rumaropen informed.

Through the proposed cooperation, native Papuans will be able to get agricultural technical and vocational training under the Fukuoka prefecture government's scholarship scheme, he said.

The Papua provincial government has disclosed on its website, which ANTARA accessed on Wednesday, that it appreciates the cooperation with the Fukuoka government.

Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said the training program is expected to cover agricultural skills in general, including know-how on food crops, plantation, and cattle breeding.

The development of human resources in Papua and West Papua remains a challenge, considering the Human Development Index scores of the two provinces, which lag behind other Indonesian provinces.

Papua and West Papua scored 64.7 and 60.84 respectively on Indonesia's 2019 Human Development Index.

To improve the quality of human capital in Papua and West Papua, the Indonesian Finance Ministry has suggested that the regional governments allocate an endowment fund to finance human resource development and the education of native Papuans.

The fund can be allocated from Papua Province's annual budget, director of the Finance Ministry's Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) Scholarship Program, Dwi Larso, stated.

The Papuan administration could adopt a similar endowment fund for education as the LPDP to support its human resources development efforts, he added.

The funding resources could be the Papua provincial government's annual budget, special autonomy funds, or other resources, Larso said.

Through the endowment fund for education, the Papua provincial administration could finance human resources development, education, and research programs more easily, he pointed out.

Scientists, whose research is funded by the endowment fund, could help the Papua provincial government manage the province's abundant natural resources, he added. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has said it will coordinate with the Malaysian authorities to monitor the condition of 21 Indonesian workers arrested without documentation on Tuesday.

"We are coordinating with Malaysia's related agencies, including the immigration office," the embassy's spokesperson, Yoshi Iskandar, said here on Wednesday.

Malaysian immigration officers raided two restaurants in Putrajaya, Malaysia at 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday to search for undocumented foreign migrant workers.

The two restaurants are located in the neighborhood of Kampong Abu Bakar Baginda and Presint 11 in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya.

The raids resulted in the arrest of 29 foreign migrant workers, aged between 21 and 55 years, according to reports in Malaysia.

The detainees comprised 21 Indonesians, seven Indians, and one Myanmar citizen. The Indonesian detainees included 10 men and 11 women.

They all underwent swab testing before being sent to the Malaysian immigration's detention house in Lenggeng, Seremban district, Negeri Sembilan.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), "some 1.98 million regular migrant workers were employed in Malaysia by September 2019".

Over the past few years, the Malaysian government has repeatedly repatriated undocumented migrant workers to their countries of origin.

ANTARA has earlier reported that Malaysia repatriated at least 4,800 undocumented Indonesian migrant workers last year in the midst of its COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

Prior to their repatriation, the Indonesian workers had been housed at several immigration detention houses in the neighboring country.

The first phase of repatriation was conducted on June 6, 2020 and involved 2,189 undocumented Indonesian migrant workers staying in several immigration detention centers in the Malaysian Peninsula and Sarawak as well as 672 others in Sabah.

The first batch of 450 undocumented migrant workers were flown back to Indonesia through Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya on June 6, 2020, while 445 others returned through those three Indonesian cities on June 10, 2020.

The repatriation of 1,294 undocumented migrant workers to Medan was conducted by sea on June 22, 2020.

Like several other countries across the globe, Malaysia has been striving to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases and to deal with the socio-economic impact of the virus that initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.

The Malaysian government has enforced a movement control order (MCO) to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta.  Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Wednesday stressed that infrastructure development is meant not only for physical construction of buildings, but also for shaping a civilization.

"Infrastructure development is building this civilization, which we often do not realize,” the President remarked while inaugurating the passenger terminal at Kuabang Airport in North Halmahera district of North Maluku province.

Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, Governor of North Maluku, Abdul Gani Kasuba, and other officials also attended the inauguration.

"Many people have asked me why infrastructure is the focus of development in our country, Indonesia. I need to say that infrastructure is not only physical, but many things will emerge and develop due to infrastructure construction," Widodo elaborated.

"Imagine, for example, before there was a road from North Halmahera to Sofifi, we had to walk; now that the road is available means that you can take a bus, ride a motorcycle, you can ride a car, build a new civilization," he added.

The presence of an airport in the community can also foster a new civilization, the President said.

"Now, we must be disciplined to arrive on time since we come to the airport to fly to another city, and the time has been determined. If not, we will miss the flight. It also develops a new sense of discipline and builds civilization," he observed.

The creation of infrastructure also improves competitiveness so that regions can compete with other regions, he pointed out.

In addition, infrastructure development, including construction of airports, can also be a way to promote social justice and the unity and integrity of Indonesia, Widodo said.

"From North Halmahera, you can fly to Jakarta, you can fly to Aceh, you can fly to Kalimantan, you can fly to the East to Papua," he elaborated.

He said he hopes that Kuabang Airport can create new economic growth points even though during the pandemic the airport is only operating charter aircraft.

Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Sumadi said: "The length of the runaway spanning 2,400 meters is quite big and adequate for connectivity to boost tourism and economic activity. This airport is complementary to the Sultan Babullah Airport in Ternate.”

With a runway measuring 2,400 meters in length and 30 meters in width, the Kuabang Airport can accommodate narrow-bodied aircraft.

The airport’s passenger terminal, which was built with state budget funds of Rp50.82 billion, is spread over an area of 3,500 square meters and can accommodate up to 160 thousand passengers annually.

The airport also has a 100 x 23 meter taxiway and a 157 x 72 meter parking runway (apron) that can accommodate three ATR aircraft and one Boeing aircraft. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. The Environment and Forestry Ministry has drawn attention to the criticality of intensifying cooperation between Indonesia and technologically advanced nations in order to capitalize on the genetic resources.

To address the pressing matter of utilizing genetic resources, Indonesia, with abundant biodiversity, certainly should have the capability to master technology to manage the wealth," Chief of the Research, Development, and Innovation Board at the Environment and Forestry Ministry Agus Justianto noted during a discussion on the protection of genetic resources here on Wednesday.

To this end, Indonesia should open up opportunities for cooperation with technologically advanced countries through a mutually beneficial policy for the utilization of genetic resources, he emphasized.

"Indonesia must also avail the benefits as the supplier of genetic resources," he stated.

This is deemed of utmost importance since genetic resources are related to the state’s sovereignty and are strategic resources that serve the interests of the public, at large, he affirmed.

Hence, this calls for an integrated policy by the central and regional governments, including reinforcing coordination and synergy to safeguard and utilize genetic resources in a sustainable manner, he remarked.

Justianto further pointed to various recommendations derived from the discussion held on March 23-24, 2021, and involved various ministries and institutions, such as the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

The recommendations encompass the need to apply the five pillars of supervision of genetic resources, creation of a task force for the protection of genetic resources, and intensive application of the Nagoya Protocols across sectors to guarantee fair and equitable distribution of profits.  (Antaranews)