VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta - The relocation of the capital city to Eastern Kalimantan aims to encourage improvements in the mindset of the Indonesian people, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said. The relocation does not merely revolve around the geographical sites or the moving of the palaces, President Widodo said at the inauguration of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) event held in Jakarta, Wednesday.

What he had in mind was the transfer of mindset, transfer of work patterns, and transfer of work culture, he added.

He would first build a working system and a new lifestyle system, including a modern transportation system, he said.

He also dismissed the assumption that the movement of the capital city from Jakarta to North Penajam Paser District and part of the Kutai Kartanegara District, was a matter of moving the government building, rather, it was about the shifting of mindset and work systems.

One of the things due to be built is a mass transportation system that relies on autonomous vehicles and electric-powered vehicles, the former Jakarta Governor explained.

Aside from public transportation, Jokowi also hoped that private vehicles used in the new capital city would be autonomous and powered by electricity.

"We want to build this system, that way everything is efficient and everything is cheap," he said.

In the process of determining the country's new capital city in East Kalimantan Province, the government has paid attention to the geopolitical and geostrategic aspects, as well as the readiness of supporting and financing infrastructures.

The total land area that will be provided for the new capital region is 256 thousand hectares, with an estimated construction cost of Rp466 trillion.

The President has asked for support from all parties regarding the relocation plans of the capital city, aimed at transforming the economy and ensuring an equal development towards a better civilization. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that China was the largest supplier of imported goods to Indonesia during the January-December 2019 period with a value of 44.58 billion US dollars, contributing 29.95 percent.

"China was the biggest supplier of imported goods to Indonesia in 2019," BPS Head, Suhariyanto, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Following China, Japan was the second-largest supplier of imported goods to Indonesia with a value of 15.59 billion US dollars or 10.47 percent. Then came Thailand with an import value of 9.41 billion US dollars or 6.32 percent.

"Meanwhile, non-oil and gas imports from the ASEAN are 29,291 US dollars or 19.68 percent, while they are 12,344.5 US dollars or 8.29 percent from the European Union," Suhariyanto said.

The cumulative value of imports from January to December 2019 was 170.72 billion US dollars, down 9.53 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

"The decline occurred in oil and gas and non-oil and gas imports, to 7.98 billion US dollars or 26.73 percent and 10 billion US dollars or 6.30 percent, respectively," Suhariyanto said.

Suhariyanto explained that the decline in oil and gas imports was caused by the decline in all the imports of oil and gas components, namely crude oil at 3.45 billion US dollars or 37.73 percent, oil yields at 3.96 billion US dollars or 22.50 percent, and gas at 556.9 million dollars US or 18.17 percent.

Over the past 12 months, the highest value of oil and gas imports was recorded in April 2019 with a value reaching 2.235 billion US dollars, while the lowest occurred in March 2019, at 1.5 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile, the highest non-oil and gas import value was recorded in July 2019, which was 13.7 billion US dollars and the lowest in June 2019 with a value of 9.7 billion US dollars.

The import volume from January to December 2019 also decreased 5.31 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

"This condition was triggered by the decline in the volume of oil and gas imports by 16.80 percent (8,267.6 thousand tons) and non-oil and gas by 0.69 percent (849.7 thousand tons)," Suhariyanto said. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (popular as Jokowi) has ordered his ministers to finalize the drafts of the planned Omnibus Law in 13 days or before his 100-day run, which he will complete on January 28, 2020.

"Following our discussion on the Omnibus Law, I request the drafts to be completed this week," Jokowi ordered his ministers during a limited meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, Wednesday.

During the meeting, Jokowi asked his ministers to set a time frame for the completion of the Omnibus Law drafts. The meeting was attended by Vice President, Ma'ruf Amin; ministers of the Indonesia Maju Cabinet; the National Police Chief, Gen. Pol. Idham Azis; the Intelligence Agency chief, Budi Gunawan; and the Attorney General, Sanitiar Burhanuddin.

Since being elected to a second term in office, President Widodo had vowed to revise at least 74 prevailing laws and synchronize them into a single law, a concept that was popular as the Omnibus Law. The draft will be submitted to the House of Representatives in mid-January this year, the president targeted.

Under his tenure for the 2019-2024 period, Jokowi's administration has planned to draft several omnibus laws, including the Employment Creation Act, the SMEs Empowerment Act, and the Taxation Act. The laws cover at least 11 clusters and harmonize regulations issued by 30 ministries and agencies.

For an omnibus law on taxation, the president believes it will support Indonesia's tax reform. "Our country will serve as a center of the regional and global economic gravities (once the taxation omnibus bill is passed into a law); I believe the law will have a positive impact on the creation of jobs in Indonesia," he expounded.

Despite the president's optimist stance over the omnibus law, several groups, including labor unions, expressed concerns over the plan. In December last year, a Confederation of the Indonesian Labor Union said the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation Act may hurt domestic workers as it will revise regulations on salary, working hours, and worker protection.

"Our concerns are that the Omnibus Law will harm labor because some of the regulations will allow foreign unskilled workers (to be employed); it will be a massive use of outsourcing, flexible working hours, and a change in the payroll scheme from monthly to hourly," the Confederation of Indonesian Workers' Unions (KSPI) Chairman, Said Iqbal, said in a statement.

Hundreds of workers staged a rally in front of the House of Representatives on Monday (Jan 13) to reject the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation Act. The rally continued next to the Merdeka Presidential Palace on Wednesday (Jan 15).

According to the protesters, the omnibus law may remove regulations on a minimum standard salary and severance pay, while lifting restrictions to outsource workers and unskilled foreign workers. They are also concerned the omnibus law may scrap legal sanctions over irresponsible employers/companies, and also compromise the labor rights to social security. (ANTARA)

The Provincial Government of East Java is exploring cooperation in the fields of tourism, human resources, and trade with the United States. This was revealed after a meeting of Indonesia's Deputy Ambassador to the United States, Iwan Freddy Hari Susanto with East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa in Surabaya, East Java, Tuesday (01/14/2020).

Iwan expressed, for the field of tourism, the money spent by Americans for vacation is huge. In addition, American tourists averagely spend long time visits. During the meeting, Indonesian Deputy Ambassador to the United States, Iwan Freddy Hari Susanto also specifically discussed efforts to improve human resources in East Java, through a series of cooperation programs offered in the United States.

"On the other hand, one very specific thing we discussed together is related to efforts to improve human resources in East Java, through a series of cooperation programs offered by the United States, because human resources is one of the priority programs of the Indonesian government and is also a major concern of East Java Governor, it is indeed one thing that we must explore properly, we are improving various cooperation programs," said Iwan Freddy Hari Susanto.

Meanwhile, the Governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa hopes that this collaboration will be continued systemically and synergistically. She suggested, for cooperation in the trade sector, there would be a meeting between the sellers and the buyers. Khofifah hopes that the coordination to realize cooperation by expanding the East Java product market to America can be maximized soon. (RRI Surabaya / ANIK / AHM)