VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to make all-out efforts to urge the realization of a ceasefire agreement at the earliest between Israel and Palestine.

While speaking at an OIC foreign ministers' extraordinary meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, Marsudi urged the organization to send a strong message and mobilize international support in handling the worsening conflict situation in Gaza.

"Considering that the UN Security Council is unable to carry out its functions, to get stronger international support, the OIC must urge the UN General Assembly to hold an emergency session," she noted in a copy of her press statement.

Indonesia then called on the OIC to urge all relevant parties to create humanitarian corridors in Gaza and ensure that the international humanitarian law is respected.

This is because Israel's actions of blocking access to electricity, water, and fuel, as well as punishing civilians are deemed contrary to international law.

"Every second matters for Palestinians whose basic rights are threatened. Any effort that leads to the expulsion of the population in Gaza must be rejected," she stressed.

Furthermore, Indonesia called on the OIC to press for the continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to achieve a two-state solution as the only way to overcome the roots of the conflict.

The minister emphasized that lasting peace will not be achieved without the fulfillment of the rights of Palestinians.

"At the end of the statement, Indonesia reminded that the OIC was founded to liberate the Palestinian people. Now is the time for the OIC to act, and we must act together," she affirmed.

"Indonesia does not want the current situation in Gaza to be used by Israel and other countries to eliminate the issue of Palestine and the rights of Palestinians. Do not let Israel continue its occupation of Palestinian land," she stressed.

The OIC's meeting in Jeddah is deemed crucial to strengthen the unity of OIC's position in handling the situation in Gaza, which is increasingly worrisome and made worse by the latest attack on Al-Ahli Al Arabi Hospital on Tuesday (October 17).

Indonesia has strongly condemned Israeli attacks on civilian facilities, including one that targeted the Al-Ahli Al Arabi Hospital, killing at least 500 victims.

At the OIC meeting, Indonesia also expressed strong condemnation of the aggression against civilians in Gaza and the occupied territories of Palestine.

"Israel's request to vacate 22 hospitals in Gaza is an inhumane act and contrary to international humanitarian law and must be ignored," Marsudi remarked. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian government has voiced its full support for the global agenda to combat plastic waste polluting land and seas, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).

"Indonesia is currently implementing policies aimed at combating plastic waste and pollution," said Ary Sudijanto, Head of KLHK's Environmental and Forestry Instrument Standardization Agency, in a statement released on Thursday.

He pointed out that 80 percent of the marine debris polluting the Indonesian seas had resulted from activities conducted on land, with plastic waste accounting for 30 percent of the debris.

Based on data from the National Plan of Action for Marine Debris Handling, Indonesia managed to reduce the amount of marine plastic waste during the 2018-2022 period, from 615,675 tons to 408,885 tons.

Sudijanto also stated that Indonesia's position among the world's largest contributors of plastic waste had fallen from second to fifth, below the Philippines, India, Malaysia, and China.

"Indonesia is currently implementing the National Plan of Action for Marine Debris Handling to achieve the target of reducing marine debris by 70 percent by 2024," he stated.

During the 61st Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) meeting in Bali on October 16, 2023, Indonesia highlighted the importance of determining the definition of plastic pollution, the scope of the life cycle of plastic, and concrete measures for combating plastic waste.

Indonesia also informed the participants that it is prioritizing efforts to strengthen its capacity and capability in managing waste, including applying a circular economy to prevent resources from being wasted.

The Indonesian government has devised the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program to encourage companies to participate in the circular economy. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Internist and consultant on tropical and infectious diseases from the state-run Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), Dr. Robert Sinto SpPD, K-PTI, revealed that the government is prioritizing the provision of monkeypox (Mpox) vaccines to vulnerable groups.

"The government is currently preparing a priority scale for groups that will get access to the monkeypox vaccine," he said at an online talk show with the Jakarta Health Service on Thursday.

The priority scale aims to ensure that the limited number of vaccines can be used optimally for people who are in need, he said.

Access to the monkeypox vaccines will not be as easy as for the COVID-19 vaccine, which was given to all levels of society without a priority scale, he added.

The decision to limit access to the monkeypox vaccine was taken because there are still many ways that people can prevent contracting monkeypox besides getting vaccinated.

"We can also prevent infection without being given a vaccine. There are many steps that we can take," according to him.

One of the prevention measures is practicing clean and healthy living behavior and avoiding close contact and sexual relations with monkeypox sufferers, he added.

"We should carry out such preventive measures even if the government does not provide the vaccines," he continued.

Earlier, the Indonesian Health Ministry reported the discovery of a fresh monkeypox case in Jakarta on October 14, 2023.

The patient was confirmed to have been exposed to monkeypox after a series of examinations. The patient lives in Jakarta and has no history of travel abroad or out of town.

With the discovery of the new case, the number of cases of monkeypox detected in Indonesia has reached 2. The first case was discovered on August 20, 2022.

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

In general, 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 is the country that has reported the highest number of cases, while China, Thailand, and Japan have dominated in terms of the cases reported in Asia. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia is targeting Japan and South Korea as new modest fashion markets, Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga has said.

Sambuaga said that several countries with small Muslim populations have a high demand for modest fashion.

"Not only (countries) with large Muslim populations, but those like South Korea and Japan are also interested, so it's a matter of how we promote it as widely as possible," he said after the opening of the Jakarta Modest Fashion Week (JMFW) at the Indonesian Trade Expo, ICE BSD, in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday.

Muslim fashion from Indonesia, including modest clothing, is in high demand globally, according to him. Therefore, he said, efforts to expand the modest fashion market are not solely targeting countries with large Muslim populations.

He further said that to develop modest fashion industries, it is necessary to identify and map the market so that the nation's aim of becoming the global mecca of Muslim fashion can be realized.

"I expect this will really contribute to determining the fashion mecca or trendsetter, as well as an icon of Muslim fashion in the future," said Sambuaga.

The modest fashion sector is currently developing rapidly and Indonesia, as the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, must take advantage of this opportunity, he added.

Indonesia is aiming to set itself as a modest fashion mecca by 2024.

Based on data from the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report of 2022, the purchasing power for modest fashion products increased 6.1 percent in the previous four years. The figure is expected to continue to increase in line with growth in the number of consumers/population. (Antaranews)