VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 15 - The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in Jakarta has planned to hand out its Merah Putih vaccine seeds to state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma at the end of March.

"The first batch of vaccine seeds will be handed out at the end of March 2021," Head of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Amin Soebandrio, told ANTARA here on Monday.

PT Bio Farma is partnering with Eijkman to hold trials and produce the Merah Putih COVID-19 vaccine, developed with a recombinant protein subunit platform.

The vaccine seeds could be delivered according to schedule, Soebandrio remarked, adding that the recombinant protein was available and in the process of transition from the laboratory to the industry.

The vaccine seeds are subject to preclinical tests as well as the phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials before being allowed for use, he noted.

Coronavirus infections initially surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.

Since then, COVID-19 has gripped over 215 countries and territories, including 34 provinces of Indonesia, with a huge rise in death toll.

To safeguard Indonesians from the lethal virus, the Indonesian government has secured COVID-19 vaccine doses through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms.

Indonesia, for instance, approved the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, but it is also leaving no stone unturned to develop its own vaccine to fight the virus.

Indonesian scientists are currently working on the vaccine named after the country's national flag, Merah Putih (Red and White).

In winning the fight against the coronavirus disease, Indonesia has launched a national vaccination program since January 13, 2021.

President Joko Widodo became the first recipient of the Sinovac vaccine jab.

The Health Ministry has projected the vaccination of some 181.5 million people under the vaccination program to take 15 months.

Indonesia's COVID-19 infection rate has surpassed one million cases since January 26, 2021.

To attain herd immunity and free the nation from the clutches of the pandemic, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has attached due weightage to successfully administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the targeted population.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease has siphoned the nation into grave public health and economic crises. (Antaranews)

Mar. 15 -  National Logistics Agency (Bulog) President Director Budi Waseso affirmed that his agency had accorded priority to absorbing domestically produced rice to maintain the government's Rice Reserves (CBP) stock instead of importing one million tons.

"In principle, we prioritize domestic production for CBP absorption," Waseso stated during a hearing with Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Monday.

Bulog will not necessarily go ahead with the rice import assignment since the country is currently entering a major rice harvest period.

"Although we have been assigned to import one million tons of rice, we will not necessarily conduct it, as we continue to prioritize domestic products since it is currently the peak of the harvest season," he remarked.

The agency and the Ministry of Agriculture have been making all-out efforts to absorb domestically produced grain and rice across Indonesia.

As of March 14, 2021, the total stock of rice available at Bulog's warehouses reached 883,585 tons, comprising 859,877 tons of CBP stocks and 23,708 tons of commercial rice stocks.

The stock is viewed as being sufficient to meet commercial requirements, for the Child Social Welfare (KPSA) program, and for disaster emergency response in line with the requirements of Bulog.

The existing CBP stock includes 106,642 tons of rice of low quality imported in 2018 when Indonesia had imported a total of 1,785,450 tons of rice.

Rice already in its annual storage period amounted to 461 thousand tons in total. Meanwhile, for the rest of 2018, some 275,811 tons of imported rice was still available at Bulog's warehouses, of which the quality had deteriorated for 106,642 tons.

The government had earlier planned to import some one million tons of rice in early 2021. This was allocated for the CBP supply of 500 thousand tons, and the Bulog’s requirements for 500 thousand tons by taking into account the absorption of nationally produced rice. (Antaranews)

Mar. 15 - Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mathius D. Fakhiri was vociferous in asserting that his personnel would not step back even an inch to crack down on armed Papuan criminals operating in Intan Jaya District.

"The presence of military and police personnel in Intan Jaya is aimed at ensuring that law enforcement is optimal against those committing acts of violence there," he affirmed.

To this end, Fakhiri has instructed all cops joining the Nemangkawi task force and units in areas, with high degree of security risks, to act bravely in responding to the criminals' acts of terror.

However, in cracking down on the perpetrators, the on-duty police officers should do their duties in an accountable manner to avoid risks that may harm innocent civilians, he emphasized.

The situation in Intan Jaya has shown improvement, and the district government is required to work closely with security personnel to restore security and public order there.

By restoring and maintaining the district's security and public order, public services for local communities could fully resume, he affirmed.

"Hence, we are optimistic of a solid collaboration between those from the military and police and their counterparts from the Intan Jaya district administration," he stated.

The Papua provincial administration is making efforts to restore normalcy in Intan Jaya that has borne witness to a spate of violence against civilians and security personnel in the past two years.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September, 2020, with notorious armed groups launching a series of attacks in the area that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured. These notorious armed Papuan groups have continued their acts of terror during the new year.

On January 6, 2021, some 10 armed Papuans vandalized and torched a Quest Kodiak aircraft belonging to the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) at the Pagamba Village airstrip.

The armed groups often employ hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel, while they unleash acts of terror against civilians to instill a sense of fear among the people.

On February 8, 2021, an armed rebel reportedly shot a 32-year-old man at close range in Bilogai Village, Sugapa Sub-district.

The victim, identified by his initials as RNR, sustained gunshot wounds on the face and right shoulder and was taken to the Timika Public Hospital in Mimika District on February 9.

On February 9, 2021, six armed Papuans fatally stabbed a motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver.

The government has launched emergency response measures To address the impact of the most recent instances of armed conflict, which have compelled around 600 locals to flee their homes.

To this end, Indonesia's Social Affairs Ministry recently supplied aid packages to those taking refuge.

The aid packages comprised 660 packaged food boxes, 420 child food packs, 100 folding tents, 200 folding mattresses, and 300 blankets. (Antaranews)

Mar. 15 - The Central Jakarta Municipality administration will conduct the planting of some 150 thousand plants along main roadsides and a graveyard under its initiative to increase the aesthetic appeal of the city this year.

The plants will be planted at the Petamburan Public Cemetery and along the roadsides of Abdul Muis, Jln. H. Fachrudin, Letjen Suprapto, and Salemba-Kramat streets, Head of the Central Jakarta Green Lane and Cemetery Section Budi Hidayat noted here on Monday.

Bougainvillea, Ashoka, Costus, Sambang Virgin, Aralia, and ornamental banana are among those to be planted.

"The ornamental plants are indeed for roadside planting and help to neutralize pollutants and emission gases," Hidayat told Antara.

A budget amounting Rp5 billion has been allocated for planting the 150 thousand plants this year, according to him.

The Central Jakarta City Parks and Forestry Office has until now planted 50 thousand plants along Fachrudin and Jalan Cideng roadsides located in front of the Tanah Abang Tasik Market.

At least 28 task forces will be involved in the tree planting program.

"This park arrangement is a continuation of last year's program implemented along the Cikini roadside and Karet Bivak public cemetery," he remarked.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta authorities reopened four parks in Central Jakarta to the public, albeit enforcing the Micro-Scale Activity Restriction (PPKM) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The parks were reopened since Saturday (March 13) under the supervision of several officers to ensure that visitors comply with the health protocols.

"The city parks are opened but with a maximum capacity of 50 percent. Security guards are also readied to oversee the implementation of health protocols in line with the current regulations," Head of the Central Jakarta Urban Forests and Parks Mila Ananda stated here on Saturday.

The four parks are the Lapangan Banteng Park located near the Pasar Baru area, Sumenep Promade Park situated in proximity to the HI Roundabout, the disability-friendly Setara Tanamur Park in East Tanah Abang, and the Slipi Fly Over (FO) Park designed for skateboarding enthusiasts.

Apart from placing a cap on the number of visitors and setting up surveillance, facilities for washing hands are also offered to enable residents to apply the 3M health protocols.

Ananda emphasized that it was compulsory for visitors at the park to wear face masks.

"We are keen to provide safe and comfortable green open spaces by cleaning and providing facilities at the parks. However, residents are also expected to care for their own health by wearing masks or carrying hand sanitizers for self-protection," she explained.

The opening of other parks in the capital city is also likely to follow suit.

"We will see the results of the evaluation first. If it turns out that the people can comply with the implementation of health protocols and the results are good, then of course, we will open other parks gradually," she affirmed.

Visitors at the parks should also ensure that their body temperature is below 37.5 degrees Celsius, follow the path marked in the parks, maintain a safe required distance, and avoid crowding. (Antaranews)