VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 16 - Malaysia has charged glove maker Top Glove Corp Bhd with 10 counts of failing to provide worker accommodation that meets the minimum standards of the labour department, state news agency Bernama said on Tuesday.

Top Glove, the world’s largest medical glove maker, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges levied by the sessions court in the northwestern city of Ipoh, the agency said.

Ten of the firm’s accommodation sites for foreign workers in the state of Perak were not certified by the labour department, it added.

Court hearings resume on April 28.

If found guilty, Top Glove could be fined up to 50,000 ringgit on each charge, a charge-sheet showed.

Top Glove was not immediately available for comment. The labour department declined comment on a case still in progress.

The charges follow authorities’ investigations into worker accommodation and hostels at several Top Glove units last November, following a coronavirus outbreak at one of its fatories near the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

That outbreak grew into Malaysia’s largest cluster, with more than 5,000 workers testing positive.

Last week, an independent consultant, Impactt, said it “no longer” found any indication of systemic forced labour at Top Glove, which was making progress on some indicators, such as living conditions. (Reuters)

Mar. 16 - Senior officials from United States and Japan on Tuesday raised concerns about China’s behaviour in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other areas and said it was inconsistent with the international order.

A joint statement from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts said they had serious concerns “about recent disruptive developments in the region such as the China Coast Guard Law.”

They said they had discussed Washington’s “unwavering commitment” to defend Japan in the East China Sea, and reiterated their opposition to China’s “unlawful” maritime claims in South China Sea. (Reuters)

Mar. 16 - The sister of North Korean leader, Kim Yo Jong, criticised ongoing military drills in South Korea and warned the new U.S. administration against “causing a stink” if it wants peace, state news reported on Tuesday.

The statement comes a day before America’s top diplomat and defence chief are due to arrive in Seoul for their first talks with South Korean counterparts.

“We take this opportunity to warn the new U.S. administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land,” Kim said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA. “If it wants to sleep in peace for coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are travelling in Asia this week for foreign policy and security talks with allies in Japan and South Korea, among other stops.

The timing of Kim’s comments seems designed to ensure that North Korea will be at the top of Blinken and Austin’s agenda when they land in Seoul, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a Korea expert at King’s College London.

“Until now, the discussion was focusing on The Quad, dealing with China and the North Korea policy review,” he said. “Now Kim’s statement will be central to discussions.”

North Korea has so far rebuffed entreaties from the United States to engage in dialogue, the White House said on Monday, as a chill in relations that began under then-President Donald Trump has extended into Joe Biden’s presidency.

Leader Kim Jong Un had three high-profile summit meetings with Trump and exchanged a series of letters, but the nuclear-armed state ended talks and said it would not engage further unless the United States drops its hostile policies.

There was no immediate response from the White House and State Department, or South Korea’s government. Biden’s team has been conducting a review of North Korea policy, which it expects to wrap up in coming weeks.

‘WAR DRILLS’

South Korean and American troops began a joint springtime military drill last week, which was limited to computer simulations because of the coronavirus risk as well as the ongoing efforts to engage with the North.

“War drills and hostility can never go with dialogue and cooperation,” said Kim Yo Jong, who has become a vocal critic of Seoul in state media dispatches.

She mocked South Korea for “resorting to shrunken war games, now that they find themselves in the quagmire of political, economic and epidemic crisis.”

The inter-Korean engagement that had improved in 2018 and is sought by South Korea “won’t come easily again” and North Korea will be watching to see if there is further provocations, she said.

North Korea would consider pulling out of an inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing tensions along their shared border, and would review whether to dissolve several organisations aimed at cooperation with the South, Kim said.

Kim Yo Jong’s statement, as colourful as it is, is generally consistent with past North Korean statements expressing frustrations at disparities between words and actions, said Jenny Town, director of 38 North, a U.S.-based website that tracks North Korea.

“How despite the agreements in place, positive actions especially on the inter-Korean agenda have been too few while actions that reinforce the ‘old’ adversarial relationship persist,” she said. (Reuters)

Mar. 16 - Advancements in technology and digital transformation owing to globalization have aided in boosting the Indonesian economy, particularly amid the COVID-19 crisis, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

"This is an opportunity to transform our economy and various socio-economic activities toward digital transformation," the minister stated at the International Conference on Digital Transformation in Customs here on Tuesday.

Digital transformation is capable of boosting the national economy during the ongoing pandemic, as it has changed the manner of conducting business and activities, as well as helped the government in preparing regulations, the minister noted.

Furthermore, digital transformation has offered a plethora of opportunities, including for small and medium businesses, as they can survive during the pandemic by trading through digital platforms.

"The government is required to innovate, so that it can not only provide the right regulations and policies but also change the way we do business in serving the country and catering to the needs of society and businesses," Indrawati remarked.

To this end, all institutions -- the government, private sector, and society -- are mandated to respond to the acceleration and development of this digital transformation in order to continue to spur the Indonesian economy.

"We must derive the best from this digital transformation and ensure that productivity and innovation will be flawless," she affirmed.

On the other hand, Indrawati affirmed that digital transformation also posed several risks that should be addressed, such as the swiftly growing development of digital goods in the world.

Electronic transmission, which has increased significantly in the digital era, is able to blur boundaries between countries. Hence, the government should formulate the right policies to handle it.

"The government continues to formulate policies and regulations, so that we can make the best of this opportunity," she stated. (Antaranews)