VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 12 - Celebration of the Chinese New Year 2572 Kongzili which falls on Friday 12 February is different from previous years. This year's Chinese New Year service is carried out with full limitations amid the outbreak of the global Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which has also hit Indonesia.

Based on RRI.co.id observation at the location, hundreds of congregants arrived at the Dharma Bakti Vihara, Petak Sembilan, Glodok, West Jakarta, since the morning, they seemed to be solemnly performing worship or praying at the Vihara.

In the midst of this pandemic, the Vihara management has indeed limited the number of congregations who will not worship at the Dharma Bhakti Vihara. The maximum number of congregants allowed to enter is also limited to 50 people at a time.

The supervisor of the Dharma Bakti Vihara, Yusuf Hamka, when talking to journalists, made sure that there was no cutting tradition.

"It is obligatory for 50 people and we have to wear masks, wash our hands, prepare everyone. Maintain a distance. If you don't keep your distance, you have to be reprimanded, I warned you to keep your distance. This year, we still do bird releases. What is omitted is that it is too crowded, that's what is not allowed," Yusuf Hamka told reporters in Jakarta, Friday (12/2/2021).

Yusuf admitted that this year's Chinese New Year is different when compared to the previous year's Chinese New Year.

“If we come here last year, you would have burst into tears because the smoke of incense was extraordinary. So now it's amazing that we can breathe and see,” he explained.

"Keep your distance and focus on public health," he explained.

"We are not open 24 hours. We are open from 5 am to 6 pm (18:00 WIB) in the afternoon," he concluded. (RRI)

Feb. 12 - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s acting president and several other military officers and warned the generals there could be more economic punishment as Washington responds to the military coup.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it targeted eight people, including the defense minister, three companies in the jade and gems sector, and updated sanctions on the top two military officials, accusing them of playing a leading role in overthrowing Myanmar’s democratically-elected government.

But Washington stopped short of including the entire Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), the military’s conglomerates that are prevalent throughout Myanmar’s economy.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an executive order for new sanctions on those responsible for the coup in Myanmar, also known as Burma, that ousted the civilian-led government and detained elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The February 1 coup was a direct assault on Burma’s transition to democracy and the rule of law,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

“We are also prepared to take additional action should Burma’s military not change course. If there is more violence against peaceful protesters, the Burmese military will find that today’s sanctions are just the first,” Yellen added.

Thursday’s action designated Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar military Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win under Biden’s executive order. Both were previously hit with sanctions in 2019 over allegations of abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities.

Others listed were six members of the National Defense and Security Council and four military officials announced as members of the State Administration Council, including Defense Minister Mya Tun Oo.

The three companies named by Washington - Myanmar Ruby Enterprise, Myanmar Imperial Jade Co, LTD, and Cancri (Gems and Jewellery) Co, LTD - were identified by a U.N. mission on Myanmar in 2019 as part of the MEHL conglomerate.

The White House said the sanctions do not need to be permanent, urging Myanmar’s military to “immediately restore power to the democratically elected government, end the state of emergency, release all those unjustly detained, and ensure peaceful protesters are not met with violence.”

The Biden administration has been working to form an international response to the crisis.

John Lichtefeld, vice president at Washington-based strategic consultancy The Asia Group, said Thursday’s announcements were an “opening salvo putting the military on notice,” adding that sanctions against the MEHL and MEC conglomerates may still occur.

“I think this is a signal to the military that the United States is serious and has a very wide range of tools at its disposal. The range of actors potentially implicated by this order is exceptionally broad, even though the order itself does not directly sanction any individual or entities,” he said.

Suu Kyi’s party won a 2015 election but the transition to democracy was brought to a halt by the coup that ousted her government as it was preparing to begin its second term after her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept a Nov. 8 election.

The military cited election fraud as justification for its takeover. The electoral commission dismissed accusations of fraud.

Also on Thursday, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said it was immediately redirecting $42.2 million of assistance away from work that would have benefited Myanmar’s government.

The aid agency said it would continue to support the people of Myanmar with approximately $69 million in bilateral programs.

Protesters have taken to the streets in cities and towns in the largest demonstrations in Myanmar for more than a decade, reviving memories of almost half a century of direct army rule, punctuated with bloody crackdowns, until the military began relinquishing some power in 2011. (Reuters)

Feb. 12 - The number of Indonesian healthcare workers who have received COVID-19 vaccine shots so far has reached 1,017,186, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force on Thursday afternoon.

The number of workers vaccinated against COVID-19 increased by 47,640 on Thursday compared to the previous day, it reported.

Of the 1,017,186 people who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 345,605 people have been administered their second dose, an increase of 66,354 people compared to Wednesday (February 10, 2021), according to the task force.

In its initial stage, the vaccination program is targeting a total of 1,468,764 healthcare workers.

The government has set a target of inoculating 181,554,464 people, or 70 percent of the total population of Indonesia, with the aim of building herd immunity against the coronavirus.

The next priority targets of the vaccination program are public service officers, including police and military personnel.

Each person covered by the vaccine program requires to be administered two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This means that Indonesia needs 362 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for 181 million people.

To speed up the vaccination process, the Ministry of Health is collaborating with the TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces) and Polri (Indonesian Police) to carry out vaccinations and contact-tracing.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has highlighted the dual strategies of surveillance and vaccination applied by his ministry to win the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

"The first strategy is surveillance. How we know where the enemy is and where they are moving. In the past, they tracked them using interrogation techniques, but now, they employ testing and tracing techniques," Sadikin explained here on Thursday.

Based on the Health Ministry's computations, 30 tracers per 100 thousand people are required for the tracing process, and they need to be deployed in every village. Hence, Indonesia needs a total of 80 thousand tracers to meet its target of vaccinating around 181 million people.

"For Indonesia’s population, approximately 80 thousand tracers are required across all villages. We do not have such apparatus, and only the Police and the TNI have it," Sadikin pointed out. (Antaranews)

Feb. 12 - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Qatari Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Syekh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha on Thursday to discuss bilateral and regional cooperation.

During the meeting, the two foreign ministers agreed to forge bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic field, with an emphasis on investments in the telecommunication, tourism, and electricity sectors.

"We must continue to drive the economic cooperation between the two countries to be able to expedite the economic recovery process in the wake of the pandemic," Marsudi said in the written statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Trade between Indonesia and Qatar continued to increase by 11.53 percent during the 2015-2019 period. Meanwhile, Qatari investment in Indonesia in the past three years focused on the tourism and energy sectors.

In 2020, Qatar's investment in Indonesia was valued at US$6.2 million, an over 30-fold increase compared to 2018.

During their meeting, the two foreign ministers also exchanged views on several regional issues, particularly the peace process in Afghanistan.

They agreed on the importance of international support to maintain the momentum of the peace process in the country.

They also agreed that the peace process will run faster than expected and therefore, a high commitment from all sides is needed, Marsudi stated.

Meanwhile, Qatar praised Indonesia for its attention to the role of women in Afghanistan.

"Women's role must always be prioritized both in the peace process and the development of Afghanistan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic," Marsudi remarked.

The two ministers also discussed the issue of Palestine, particularly with regard to the meeting of Arab League foreign ministers. (Antaranews)