VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the performance of the agricultural sector, which continues to grow at a positive level during pandemic must be maintained.

In a virtual limited meeting from the Presidential Palace, Bogor, Tuesday, President Jokowi said the growth momentum of the agricultural sector must be continued to sustain the welfare of farmers and fishermen.

In the second quarter of 2020, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the agricultural sector still grows up to 16.24 percent quarter on quarter (q to q) when there are many other business sectors contracted to a negative level due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If viewed annually, the agricultural sector also continues to grow by 2.19 percent (year on year / yoy).

"We need to maintain the momentum of this positive growth in the agricultural sector so it has a significant impact on the welfare of farmers and fishermen," President Jokowi said at a meeting on Farmers and Fishermen Corporations in Realizing Economic Transformation.

"I would like to remind all of us that amid a pandemic the agricultural sector has contributed the highest to the national economic growth is in a slowing position," the President said.

The President also asked the line ministries and related institutions to realize a business model that can increase the economic capacity of farmers.

If the economic capacity of farmers in groups has increased, it will be easier for farmers to get access to finance and access to information technology, and have sufficient capital to strengthen their marketing.

"This is about exporting farmers and fishermen to improve their standard of living and now in realizing economic transformation," Jokowi said.

The President also asked the ranks of ministries, local governments, and BUMN to help farmers build a larger business scale, from production to post-harvest business. (Antaranews)

The House of Representatives (DPR) and the Indonesian government on Monday passed a controversial omnibus bill into law amid mounting criticism over its provisions on labor rights, indigenous community rights, and environmental protection.

“According to what we heard, once again let me ask for approvals in this plenary session, can we all agree? (to pass the bill into law)" Deputy House Speaker Azis Syamsuddin from the Golkar Party, who led the session, asked fellow house members.

Most representatives attending the plenary session approved the bill’s passage into law.

Before the deliberation, all political parties presented their views on the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation. At least six parties firmly endorsed the omnibus bill, while the National Mandate Party presented a note on the bill.

Two parties — Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Democratic Party/Partai Demokrat — opposed the bill’s passage.

Following political party representatives, the government presented its views on why the bill needed to be passed into law.

The House and the government-held at least 64 meetings to deliberate on the bill, said the chairman of DPR’s legislative body, Supratman Andi Agtas, at the plenary session.

“The (final) omnibus bill on job creation comprised 15 chapters and 185 articles, while in the previous draft, the bill consisted of 15 chapters and 174 articles,” he noted.

According to Agtas, with the passing of the omnibus law, seven laws mentioned earlier in the bill stand scrapped:
Law No.40 Year 1999 on Press; Law No.20 Year 2003 on National Education System; Law No.14 Year 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers; Law No.12 Year 12 on Higher Education; Law No.20 Year 2013 on Medical Studies; Law No.4 Year 2019 on Midwifery; and, Law No.20 Year 2014 on Standardization and Assessment.

However, the House and the government have decided to include four other laws: Law No.6 Year 1983 on Taxation; Law No.7 Year 1983 on Income Tax; Law No.8 Year 1983 on the Sales Tax on Luxury Goods; and, Law No.18 Year 2017 on the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

Agtas also assured investors the law will cut bureaucratic red tape and expedite business permits through the use of a single system — Online Single Submission (OSS). The omnibus law will also speed up procedures for business certification, he added.

The omnibus bill on job creation was first proposed by the Indonesian government, and they submitted its final draft to the Parliament in February this year. Deliberations on the bill had taken around six months to complete with lawmakers and the government holding meetings on weekends, including a hearing last Saturday.

The bill, according to its supporters, aims to increase both domestic and foreign investment inflow, while creating a more attractive investment climate, in the next five years, following the President’s re-election last year.

The aim is clearly reflected in the bill’s 15 chapters, in which articles on business and investment dominate regulations on manpower. Of the total 905 pages, at least seven chapters cover relaxations on doing business with corporations and investors. They include easing procedures on environmental impact analysis, which is now mandatory for all kinds of business operations.

According to environmental and human rights advocates, the revision would hurt indigenous groups and efforts on protecting the environment. Even before the omnibus bill, many indigenous groups in Indonesia were involved in disputes with corporations due to land acquisitions, the most notable case being the Samin indigenous group in Kendeng mountains versus state-owned cement manufacturer PT Semen Indonesia.

Despite the concerns, the omnibus bill's proponents would be more likely to highlight its foremost aim: boosting economic growth.

However, a promise that the bill might spur the economy would not be enough for most of its opponents.

"Our concerns are that the omnibus bill will hurt labor. Because some regulations will allow foreign unskilled workers (to be employed), it will be a massive use of outsourcing, flexible working hours, and a change in payroll scheme from monthly to hourly," KSPI chairman Said Iqbal noted in a statement.

Iqbal, who has been a vocal opponent of the bill, said the existing Law No.13 Year 2003 on Manpower protects labor and their right to a fair allowance and decent treatment in the workplace.

"(If the system is changed), companies will arbitrarily determine labor's working hours and the salary they should pay to us," he pointed out. (Antaranews)

KTO Jakarta will hold a series of MFKF events online. The main event will be held for three days, October 16-18, and after-events’ online activities will be held until the end of October 2020.
This year's MFKF is also quite special because it is held in during the Korea Month celebration. Every year, October is always the most special time because it is when the Korean-themed events sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea are held.

During Korea Month, KTO Jakarta will 'serve' Korean food through Virtual Gastronomic Journey #KeKoreaAja show with Youtuber Jang Hansol and Amelia Tantono. Besides, KTO Jakarta also will carry out various online activities on social media to promote the latest Korean tourism campaign video starring the well-known girl group ITZY.

The charm of Korea is increasingly alluring along with the increasing popularity of K-pop and K-Drama. In its development, these two things have become very important media in promoting Korean tourism to various parts of the world. The attractiveness of Korean culture, culinary and nature has also become a strong magnet in attracting visits by foreign tourists, including Muslim tourists.

Until 2019, the trend of Muslim tourist visits to Korea tended to increase every year. This also has an impact on the development of institutions, public service infrastructure, and various Muslim-friendly industries. For example, the construction of places of worship in various main tourist destinations, hotels, shopping centers, airports and others.

In addition, Muslim friendly restaurants are becoming more numerous and easier to find. This development is proof of the seriousness of the Korean government in developing Muslim-friendly tourism, which is being heavily promoted under the Muslim Friendly Korea label.

Last year, MFKF was the main theme of the 2019 Korea Travel Fair, which was held in September at a shopping center in Jakarta to attract Muslim tourists from Indonesia through tour packages offered by travel agents.

However, organizing this year's MFKF will be a little different from the previous one due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still not getting better.

KTO Jakarta will hold a series of MFKF events online. The main event will be held for three days, October 16-18, and a series of other online activities will be held until the end of October. T

he purpose of holding this year's MFKF is to convey the message that Korea remains committed to the development of its Muslim-friendly tourism and that Korea is always waiting for Indonesian Muslim tourists to returned to visit after things got better.

This year's MFKF is also quite special because it is held during the Korea Month celebration. Every year, October is always the most special time because it is the month for celebrating the Korea Month, which is the month for Korean-themed events held by various institutions sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Indonesia.

KTO Jakarta will organize various online programs through its official social media, including Instagram (@ktoid). Broadly speaking, the programs to be held are as follows,
a) First day, Opening, Explore with Love and Let's Fall in Love. Explore with Love is a virtual travel to Muslim-friendly tourist destinations in Korea. Meanwhile, Let's Fall in Love is a virtual visit to several Muslim-friendly festivals in Korea;

b) Second day, Eat with Love and Cooking with Love. Eat with Love is a virtual visit to Muslim-friendly restaurants in Korea. While in the Cooking with Love event, there will be a famous Indonesian chef who cooks Korean halal food and other unique Korean menus.

c) Third day, Capture with Love, Goes to Korea with Love and Closing. Capture with Love will have a well-known photographer who will share his experiences in capturing moments in Korea and tips on how to capture the best moments when traveling in Korea. Meanwhile, Goes to Korea with Love will have influencers share tips on traveling in Korea special for
Muslim travelers.

d) after-event activities, will focus on re-broadcasting the main events held to reach a wider audience. In each of the main events mentioned above, there will be a Wellness Corner, which specifically discusses wellness tourism in Korea.

In addition to those various events, there will be quiz sessions with various attractive prizes provided by KTO Jakarta.

During Korea Month, KTO Jakarta will 'serve' Korean food through Virtual Gastronomic Journey #KeKoreaAja show with Youtuber Jang Hansol and Amelia Tantono. They will virtually invite Indonesian tourists to eat while taking a walk, along the east coast, west coast,
and south coast area of Korea. The trip will air every Saturday on their respective channels. Specifically for the last episode, episode five, it will air on KTO Jakarta's official YouTube.

Besides, KTO Jakarta also will conduct various online activities on social media such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, to promote the latest Korean tourism campaign videos. The promotion was carried out in collaboration with well-known Indonesian public figures,
YouTubers and influencers including Boy William, Marsha Aruan, Chika Jessica, Ghea Indrawari, Dea Annisa, Alexander Thian (@amrazing), and @anakjajan. 

The tourism campaign video with the theme The Rhythm of Korea stars girl group ITZY and has the sub-themes of Adventures, K-Beauty, Healing, Light, Taste, and Vibes. The message that the campaign video is trying to convey through the highlighted hashtags #meetyoulater and #ourheartsarealwaysopen, is hope and prayer that we can all go through this difficult time together and can meet again in Korea when things get better.

K-Content Expo, an annual B2B event and South Korean content exhibition that has visited Indonesia since 2016, has now transformed into ON: HALLYU FESTIVAL, which will be held online throughout November 2020.

ON: HALLYU FESTIVAL is planned to have two types of events. First, the B2B (business to business), including 1: 1 Business Matching on 16-17 November 2020, which will bring together South Korean content companies with Indonesia, and K-Startup Mentoring on 17 November 2020.

Second, the B2C (business to customer) event, including Live-Commerce Content and K-Pop Concerts and Fanmeeting on 23 November 2020. Content Live-Commerce is a virtual Korean product exhibition. In collaboration with the marketplace, Korean lovers in Indonesia can enjoy Korean product promo programs, watch live home shopping programs, beauty, and fashion talk shows, as well as virtual culture, tourism, and food exhibitions.

This festival will also be enlivened with live concerts of K-Pop artists that can be watched by K-Pop fans in Indonesia for free. Later fans will also have the opportunity to talk directly with their idols in the fan meeting session.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) organized this event on its mission to promote the Hallyu industry.

In addition, this event is expected to entertain Korean culture lovers in Indonesia during the pandemic, as well as spread the campaign against Covid-19 together.

K-Content Expo Indonesia has an important role in promoting Korean content such as games, animation, broadcasting, music, webtoon, and South Korean lifestyle products in Indonesia.

Last year, the K-Content Expo Indonesia managed to bring together 44 Korean companies with more than 80 Indonesian companies. While the exhibition attracted more than 40,000 visitors.