VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (PDTT) is focusing on the first meeting of the ASEAN Village Network to take place in Yogyakarta Province.

"We choose Yogyakarta based on many considerations, including tourist village as one of the focus (areas) in the meeting," PDTT Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar remarked after his speech at the ASEAN Collaborative Forum on Localizing 2030 SDGs in the Village Level in Yogyakarta, Tuesday.

According to Iskandar, the first meeting of the forum for establishing village networks in ASEAN was a follow-up to the agreement made by ASEAN leaders at the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, last May.

Through this network initiated by Indonesia, Iskandar noted that all ASEAN member countries with villages, except for Singapore, will synergize by building connectivity that leads to economic growth and the development of human resources (HR).

"We are prioritizing two things as mandated by President Joko Widodo, namely economic growth and development of human resources," he pointed out.

The minister is upbeat that villages in the ASEAN would exchange experiences and develop innovative strategies and policies to address the unique challenges faced by rural communities and up to the regional level.

He also believes that the first meeting of the ASEAN Village Network will open up new opportunities and create synergies to expedite village development, especially in accelerating the economic leverage of villages.

"We want the villages to get to know each other, learn from each other, and exchange experiences and success stories. The principle of the village development process is the easiest by observing, imitating, and modifying," he remarked.

As part of the series of events in the ASEAN Village Network in Yogyakarta, a visit was made to Mangunan Village in Bantul District, Yogyakarta, on Monday (July 24). In addition, several small meetings were held in various tourist villages in Yogyakarta.

Meanwhile, an exhibition, titled "ASEAN Rural Culture Expo in the Framework of ASEAN Identity," will be held at Breksi Cliff, Sambirejo Village, Sleman District, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday (July 26).

Minister Iskandar and the ASEAN Village Network delegation will attend the exhibition that will showcase various superior products from each tourist village and local products from Yogyakarta.

"This exhibition can become a medium for exchanging knowledge and experience for rural communities' capacity-building between ASEAN member countries," he noted. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna H. Laoly promoted the practice of freedom of religion in Indonesia to a member of the United Kingdom's Parliament, Fiona Bruce.

The minister said that the Indonesian government grants protection to human rights in various aspects of life, including freedom of religion.

"Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country and third-largest democracy, consistently promotes and protects human rights in various aspects of life, including freedom of religion," he said as cited from a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

In Indonesia, the freedom of religion is guaranteed and regulated by the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia in Article 28 E, Paragraph 1 and Article 29, Paragraph 2, as well as in Article 22, Paragraph 1 and 2 of Law No. 39 of 1999 concerning human rights.

During a meeting with Bruce in the UK on Monday (July 24) evening local time, Minister Laoly told the legislator that people of different religions live peacefully in Indonesia, adding that the people even care for one another during religious holidays.

He then elaborated that such a peaceful condition is being supported by Pancasila (Five Principles), the nation's foundation and ideology, which also serves as the guardian of Indonesia's diverse religions, ethnicity, and cultures.

"As the country's ideology and foundation, Pancasila highly promotes diversity as well as just and civilized humanity, and safeguards Indonesia's unity," he noted.

According to the minister, the country's ideology teaches the people how to responsibly exercise their right to practice religions and have religious beliefs.

"Therefore, Indonesian people live in harmony and unite in diversity, in accordance with our motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika," he explained.

Minister Laoly then expressed hope that the governments of Indonesia and the UK will continue to collaborate to promote freedom of religion at the global level, considering Bruce also serves as the British Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Moreover, she is serving as chairperson of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA).

Bruce noted that the international community has recognized Indonesia's capability of safeguarding freedom of religion, despite having to manage various challenges as a result of its pluralistic society.

She said, Indonesia plays a central role in issues related to human rights, both within the national and global context. Hence, to this end, she looked forward to witnessing the strengthening of cooperation on freedom of religion between Indonesia and the British Parliament.

Both countries are currently collaborating to hold the International Conference on Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy scheduled to take place in Jakarta on November 13-14 this year.

The international conference will be organized by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights under the collaboration with Leimena Institute, International Center for Law and Religion Studies at the Brigham Young University Law School, and the US-based Secretariat of the IRFBA.

The legislator then confirmed that she will join the conference to talk on the topic "Human Dignity and the Rule of Law: Global and Regional Outlook." (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said that government funding for the free COVID-19 vaccination program will end on December 31, 2023.

"We were asked for it (vaccination cost) to still be borne by the state until the end of the year," he informed after attending a stunting coordination meeting at Jakarta City Hall here on Monday.

However, he said, high-risk community groups and national health insurance BPJS Kesehatan contribution assistance recipients (PBIs) would be exempted from the paid COVID-19 vaccination scheme that will start early next year.

COVID-19 vaccination remains necessary even though Indonesia has entered the endemic phase, which was declared by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on June 21, he added.

The aim is to prevent COVID-19 transmission and prevent severe symptoms upon infection so that infected people do not need to undergo intensive treatment in a hospital.

"This is the same as meningitis (vaccination): for routine (vaccination), it still needs to be given. To whom? To people with high risk," he said.

The minister assured that COVID-19 vaccination will be provided free to all Indonesians until December 31, 2023.

Director general for disease prevention and control at the ministry, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, said that the new regulation on free vaccination starting January 1, 2024, will only target high-risk groups and BPJS Kesehatan PBIs.

The high-risk groups include older adults with comorbidities, young adults with comorbidities, especially those who are obese, and people who have immune disorders, such as people with HIV.

"We are formulating the regulation, namely a health minister regulation regarding the new presidential regulation on the endemic phase. It is targeted to be applied starting from January 1, 2024," Rondonuwu informed. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and regional governments to strengthen and increase their budget for providing basic food assistance to the community as an anticipatory measure against El Niño.

El Niño is a phenomenon in which the sea surface temperature rises above normal levels in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. It can result in reduced rainfall and trigger drought in Indonesia.

"If possible, their budget for basic food assistance to the community must be strengthened and multiplied. We will be facing the El Niño phenomenon with unpredictable effects. Since it is related to the climate, it must be prioritized," he stressed after visiting a bazaar at Rampal Field, Malang City, East Java, on Monday.

He said that the budget for providing basic food assistance must be prioritized since El Niño could potentially disrupt food security.

Besides strengthening basic food assistance, the President ordered regional heads to increase the number of affordable markets in the regions.

It is hoped that the provision of affordable markets and basic food assistance will be prioritized for areas in need if El Niño disrupts public health, he added.

Widodo said that El Niño will cause a number of areas to experience prolonged drought, which could lead to crop failure.

He estimated that the impact of El Niño will begin to be felt by August 2023.

A number of countries, such as Vietnam and India, have stopped exporting rice, therefore Indonesia must prepare its own rice stocks for national consumption, he said.

"In other countries, the phenomenon has affected food stocks. India and Vietnam have stopped exporting their rice. We do not want terrible things to happen in our country but we must prepare for everything," he remarked.

Meanwhile, based on forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the El Niño and Positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) phenomena will reinforce each other, which will cause this year's dry season to be drier than in previous years with low to very low rainfall.

If rainfall is usually around 20 mm per day, in the dry season, such rainfall may be recorded once a month or there may be no rain at all.

The peak of the dry season is predicted to occur from August to early September, with conditions expected to be much drier compared to 2020, 2021, and 2022. (Antaranews)