VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has emphasized that the cooperation of women's organizations must be strengthened to ensure equality in access to various sectors, ranging from education to health.

At the opening of the ASEAN Confederation of Women's Organizations (ACWO) Forum and Expo 2023 here on Tuesday, Amin said that women can contribute by sharing knowledge, thoughts, and experiences and strengthening friendships through organizations.

"Cooperation must also be strengthened to ensure women's equal access to education, work and business opportunities, and health facilities," he said while delivering his remarks virtually at the event.

According to him, women, who dominate the ASEAN population, have an essential role in advancing and helping ASEAN countries prosper.

The Vice President expressed his appreciation of the consistency shown by women's organizations in their fight for women's rights and welfare, considering that women's organizations are important partners of the government in efforts to make ASEAN a center of sustainable growth in the region and in the world.

He said that women are at the forefront of mainstreaming gender equality issues as well as implementing policies related to women's economic empowerment, inclusive development, political participation, and leadership, both at the national level and in ASEAN.

He added that he considers the progress of women to be vital. During the COVID-19 pandemic, women's resilience was demonstrated through micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are also deemed as drivers of the economy. Furthermore, women are also key to family development.

"Women take care of families that are the foundation for building a strong ASEAN community. Women also play a key role in teaching and spreading the values of moderation to the younger generation, starting from the family," he said.

While closing his remarks, Amin expressed the hope that the ACWO Forum and Expo, which was organized by the Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani), would benefit women in ASEAN. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) has released the 2023 Performance and Achievement Report of the administration of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.

"In this report, we emphasize this nation's spirit of determination and mutual cooperation because that is how Indonesia can get through everything (including the COVID-19 pandemic)," KSP chief Moeldoko said at the report's launch here on Tuesday.

The report, which was prepared by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) and the ANTARA News Agency, highlights the foundation built by the government to achieve the goal of making Indonesia an advanced country.

Moeldoko listed five strategies that the government is using to strengthen efforts to make Indonesia a developed country, namely, the development of human resources as well as infrastructure, bureaucratic reform, economic transformation, and regulatory improvement.

"For the past nine years, we have maintained our stability well; (this is important) because without good stability, don't dream of investment coming in. We need to maintain public and international trust," he said.

With the help of various strategies carried out by the government, Moeldoko said, Indonesia has become an upper-middle-income country from a middle-income country.

Based on World Bank data, Indonesia's gross national income (GNI) increased by 9.8 percent to US$4,580 in 2022.

This achievement, Moeldoko said, was supported by the effective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recovery program, and the economic transformation through the downstreaming of natural resources, among other factors.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is said to be "back on the world map" in world diplomacy and foreign policy.

Indonesia's strong diplomacy has been demonstrated during President Widodo's leadership of the G20, ASEAN, and the AIS Forum, as well as Indonesia's role in the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council.

"All give a clear indication that other countries praise and trust Indonesia," Moeldoko said. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Health Ministry has informed that the monkeypox vaccination will currently only be administered to people who have come in close contact with monkeypox patients.

"Vaccination only helps to limit transmission and will only be given to those who are exposed and have had close contact, not to the whole community," director of immunization management at the ministry, Prima Yosephine, said at her office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

This decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), under which vaccination is not the main focus of monkeypox mitigation plans, she said.

She said that the government is prioritizing the surveillance of monkeypox, including epidemiological investigations, isolation, and management of the disease.

The Ministry of Health is also collaborating with a number of organizations, which observe the interactions among gay and bisexual communities, in promoting preventive measures, given that six active monkeypox cases in Indonesia have been detected among people of bisexual orientation, Yosephine said.

"We are also carrying out socialization regarding clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) to them, along with their sexual behavior and safety," she said.

She noted that the ministry is making ceaseless efforts to manage monkeypox, including promotional efforts and close contact tracing.

It is also considering providing additional vaccine doses to other people found to have come in close contact with the patients, she said.

Yosephine also urged the community not to discriminate against victims or homosexual and bisexual communities so that monkeypox management control can be carried out optimally.

According to the WHO, monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever.

The number of confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide has reached 90,618, with a total of 517 deaths reported from 115 countries.

The United States has reported the highest number of cases, while China, Thailand, and Japan are dominating in terms of the cases reported in Asia. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The import substitution policy is one of the four economic policies aimed at strengthening locally-made products, including those produced by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki.

"The President has even affirmed that 40 percent of the state budget (APBN) spending will be allocated to purchase domestic products from MSMEs," he said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Through the import substitution policy, Indonesia will no longer need to import products if it can make them to meet domestic needs, Masduki stated.

He also mentioned that products made by foreign companies in Indonesia should have a domestic component level of 40 percent. They are also obligated to partner with local business players.

The second policy to protect local business players is the downstreaming and industrialization of natural resources.

Masduki emphasized that the policy is not only for large-scale business players, but must also involve local MSMEs.

"This policy also prohibits the export of raw mining products; they must be processed domestically to increase added value and create jobs," he said.

The third policy is improving MSMEs' access to financing as the current share of banking credit for MSMEs is only 21 percent, which is far lower when compared to Thailand and Malaysia, where it is already above 40 percent.

Then, the fourth economic policy pertains to digital transformation, which regulates four aspects: platforms for businesses, the flow of imports of consumer goods, the trading system, and the competitiveness of domestic MSME products.

Masduki said that Indonesia should learn from China's strategy in implementing digital transformation policies. China has been able to strengthen its digital economy platforms and prevent foreign platforms from dominating its market.

However, the government policies to protect MSMEs and domestic products from the influx of cheaper products are often seen as anti-innovation and anti-technology, he noted.

"In many countries, technology has been regulated, one of which is related to the transparency of algorithms and data on the platforms," he added. (Antaranews)