VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 19 - The Indonesian parliament has urged the central government to step up the war against drugs, saying the country is in a state of emergency with regard to rampant drug-trafficking.

"Drug crimes have even entered a phase of narcoterrorism,” head of the House of Representatives' Commission III Overseeing Legal Affairs, Herman Hery said here on Thursday.

To deal with this “state of emergency”, Hery urged the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Petruse Golose to speak frankly to President Joko Widodo about the real situation.

"I suggest that the BNN head speaks to Mr. President directly," he remarked at the commission's hearing session which had Golose and several BNN officers in attendance.

Hery insisted that the government seriously back BNN's law enforcement and prevention efforts to help win Indonesia’s collective war on drugs.

"If Mr. President can make special policies to revive the economy that has been hard hit by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, how about illicit drugs?" he asked.

The government must show its seriousness in combating drug abuse by not placing the BNN as a complement in the overall war on drug lords, he added.

At the hearing session, BNN head Golose said Indonesia is witnessing an upward trend in drug crimes, with 808.68 kg of drugs seized over the past three months.

The total weight of the drugs seized this year has reached 70.19 percent of the total weight of drugs the BNN confiscated during drug raid operations last year, he said.

"During 2020, the BNN seized 1,152.2 kg of drugs," he pointed out, adding that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, drug trade in Indonesia has seen a rise.

BNN officers have also seized 3,462.75 kg of marijuana in a series of raids conducted from January to March, 2021, he said.

The amount of the seized marijuana has increased 143.64 percent compared to January-March, 2020 when it was recorded at 2,410 kg, Golose informed.

He conjectured that the rise in the amount of seized drugs may have been triggered by increasing demand from drug users.

"Maybe, the increasing demand has been triggered by the work-from-home policy. Many have got dragged into a situation of 'drug abuse from home'," he observed.

During the meeting with members of the House of Representatives Commission III, Golose also appealed for support for upgrading the BNN's facilities.

Coronavirus disruptions have forced the agency to upgrade its facilities, including the ones related to information technology, laboratory, database, and intelligence capability, he explained. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar has said that the Sustainable Development Goals at the Village level (Village SDGs) include efforts to prevent child marriage.

"Point five of Village SDGs is about the involvement of village women, with one of the goals being the maturation of the marriage age," he observed at the Seminar and Declaration of the National Movement for Marriage Age Maturity here on Thursday.

The fifth point of the Village SDGs seeks to raise the minimum age of marriage for women to over 18 years and bring down the birth rate among adolescents aged 15-19 years to zero, he noted.

"It means that there should be no more teenage marriages," he explained.

He noted that efforts to increase the age of marriage and prevent child marriage have also been included in the Village SDGs, which seek to create healthy and prosperous villages.

The SDGs target increasing the prevalence of short-term and long-term contraceptive use in families of productive age to 100 percent.

Based on the declaration, initiated by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Ministry, Iskandar said the Village SDGs also emphasize contraceptive use by married women aged at least 18 years.

The aim is that children and adolescents not be pushed into early marriage caused by promiscuity, so that the birth rate among adolescents can reach zero, Iskandar elaborated.

"It means that no 19-year-old woman should have given birth to a child," said the minister.

Minister Iskandar welcomed the declaration saying it supports the achievement of the Village SDGs, which require collaboration from all parties.

Based on data from the PPP Ministry, in 2019, the national average of women in the 20-24 age group who were married before they turned 18 was 10.82 percent, a decline compared to 11.21 percent in 2018. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) pointed to a rising trend of drug crimes in Indonesia, as it had confiscated 808.68 kilograms of drugs during the course of the last three months of 2021.

In comparison with last year, the seized drugs weighed in at 70.19 percent of the total weight of drugs confiscated by BNN officers during various drug raid operations.

"In 2020, the BNN had seized 1,152.2 kg of drugs," BNN Head Petruse Golose notified legislators during a plenary session at the parliament building here on Thursday.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation, drug trade in Indonesia tends to increase as is apparent from the evidence of drug crimes that the BNN has seized until now, Golose noted.

On the basis of the confiscated evidence of crimes, the BNN officers seized 3,462.75 kg of marijuana during a series of drug raids conducted from January to March 2021, he remarked.

The amount of seized marijuana increased 143.64 percent, from 2,410 kg confiscated during the January-March 2020 period, Golose stated.

The BNN head surmised that the increase seizure of drugs might be triggered by the rising demand of drug users in communities.

"The rise in demand is perhaps triggered by the work-from-home policy. Many have got dragged into a situation of 'drug abuse from home,'" he pointed out.

At the meeting with members of the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs, Golose also sought their support for upgrading BNN's facilities.

The era of disruption has compelled the agency to improve its facilities, including those related to information technology, laboratory, database, and intelligence capability.

Domestic and transnational drug dealers perceive Indonesia as a potential market on account of its vast population and millions of drug users.

Drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.

Data indicates that people from all societal levels are falling prey to drugs in the country irrespective of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.

Over the past few decades, the Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug barons found smuggling and trading drugs in the country.

The BNN has pressed for capital punishment for those involved in drug trade in the country.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has also issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.

However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as a main market, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to step up vigil against them. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - Bank Indonesia (BI) has picked up sovereign debt papers (SBNs) worth Rp65.03 trillion in the primary market as of March 16, 2021 to support national economic recovery.

"Based on the agreement between BI and the Finance Ministry, if the market cannot absorb (SBNs) BI will buy (the bonds) in the primary market,” BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said during an online press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.

During the January-March period this year, Rp22.9 trillion of SBNs were purchased through the main auction mechanism and Rp42.13 trillion through the greenshoe option, he informed.

BI also bought bonds worth Rp8.5 trillion out of the bonds worth Rp19.6 trillion released by foreign investors to maintain stability in the SBN market, he added.

The purchase of SBNs is part of the synergy with the fiscal authority to aid national economic recovery, liquidity in the banking industry, and maintain loose financial markets, BI said.

The central bank had purchased SBNs worth Rp473.42 trillion from the primary market to finance the 2020 state budget and support various government programs to contain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The synergy in the purchase of SBNs will last until December 31, 2021 to finance the state budget, in accordance with the joint decree issued by the Finance Ministry and the BI Governor on December 11, 2020.

Since 2020, as part of quantitative easing measures, BI has injected Rp776.87 trillion into the banking sector, or some 5.03 percent of the gross domestic product. The figure comprises Rp726 trillion released in 2020 and Rp50.03 trillion in 2021 (as of March 16, 2021). (Antaranews)