VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia will file a lawsuit with the European Court, if the Delegated Regulation Supplementing Directive of the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II, which will impact palm oil, is finally approved by the EU parliament.

Coordinating Minister of Maritime Luhut Panjaitan said that the government will keep trying to negotiate over the discrimination of palm oil by the EU in order to fight for the small palm oil farmers, who will be affected by these policies.

“Along with Malaysia, we would like to avoid those regulations; of course, negotiation is ongoing with the EU. But, if this continues, we might have to go to the European Court, or the World Trade Organization (WTO),” he said to reporters in Jakarta on Monday.

According to the minister, the process of applying for a lawsuit in the European Court is shorter and more effective than it is at the WTO, which may take years to process.

Another option, such as leaving the Paris Agreement, is also being considered in a bid to counter the pressure of the EU.

"Another option would be leaving the Paris Agreement. America and Brazil have done it, why can’t we? Indonesia is one of the largest producers of this oil, along with Brazil and Columbia. Columbia also has a large palm oil forest, so these developing countries might also be affected,” he stated.

To counter the anticipated reduction of demand in the EU market, Indonesia will target other markets and continue to boost the use of palm oil in Indonesia.

“B20, B30, until B100 or green energy will be encouraged further,” Panjaitan noted.

A joint letter signed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, raising objections on the discrimination of palm oil products and their derivatives has also been sent to the EU.

The objections were conveyed on behalf of palm oil farmers, whose lives depend on the industry.

Indonesia and Malaysia together supply 85 percent of palm oil products in the world. (ANTARA)

The local government of Ende District in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, will, from 2019 onwards, organize an annual historical tourism parade "Seribu Garuda," or A thousand Garuda, to commemorate Pancasila's anniversary every June 1.

"From this year on, we will hold the 'Seribu Garuda' Parade as another annual event as a conclusion to the national parade activities in Ende, which we have organized yearly since 2014," Deputy Head of Ende District Djafar Ahmad remarked in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Monday.

Ahmad elaborated that the "Seribu Garuda" parade was organized to highlight the message of Pancasila, as the nation's sole ideological foundation, founded by first Indonesian President Soekarno while being exiled in Ende District during the 1934-1939 period.

Ahmad revealed that "Seribu Garuda" will be a national parade activity flagged off from the sea of Ende.

"Hence, the parade will be flagged off from the sea that symbolizes the arrival of Bung Karno (Soekarno) in Ende for his exile, and he will then be welcomed on land with the Seribu Garuda (Thousand Garuda)," he added.

The local government of Ende has worked consistently to continually convey and reiterate the significance of Pancasila as the key icon of the district's historical tourism.

In addition to holding the "Seribu Garuda" parade, Ahmad stated that the local government will put up a huge sign bearing the words "Ende Pancasila City" on Gunung Meja.

"We are in discussions about whether we are going to build a big statue of Soekarno or a Garuda bird, in addition to the large sign," he added.

Ahmad expressed hope that putting focus on the message of Pancasila as part of historical tourism will help to further drive the tourism sector and draw more visitors to the district's tourism attractions.

"We have in place a strong branding, as the city where the Pancasila ideology took birth and was studied by several people, including from other nations," he added. (ANTARA)

The elected president should invest in the empowerment of human resources in order to support the digital market in Indonesia, an analyst of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Fajar B Hirawan said in Jakarta on Monday.

The Jakarta-based think-tank's analyst said that the growth of the Indonesian digital market has been more robust than that of the markets in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Quoting research by Google and Temasek that revealed that Indonesia’s digital market is worth US$27 billion, and the value may increase to US$100 billion by 2025, Hirawan said that investing in people is needed to maintain inclusive economic development in the country.

He added that the elected president should retain inclusive growth because it will trim unemployment, as well as elevate poverty and decrease inequality in Indonesia.

The analyst stated that the country’s economy is relatively steady now, as reflected by the stable inflation rate at 3.27 percent to 3.5 percent, while the growth rate is at 5.1 percent to 5.3 percent.

“We have a strong economy now; therefore, the elected president should continue to maintain inflation and growth,” he noted.

Indonesia will simultaneously hold the presidential and legislative elections on April 17. The incumbent presidential candidate Joko Widodo and his running mate Ma’ruf Amin will go head-to-head against Prabowo Subianto, who teams up with Sandiaga Uno.  (ANTARA)

A government document outlining Indonesia’s stance on the EU policy and reviewed by Reuters said the method used to assess “Indirect Land Use Change” (ILUC), which aims to measure the risk of unintended carbon emissions, was not internationally recognized and not applicable in a tropical region.

“The criteria listed in the ILUC benefits local European Union commodities such as rapeseed oil,” it said.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a letter to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that developments in the EU hurting the interests of ASEAN palm oil-producing states have caused it to defer the “elevation of the ASEAN-EU dialogue relations to a strategic level”.

The January 14 letter urged other members of the ASEAN to follow suit.

“All Indonesia-EU relationships will be overviewed related to the discriminatory policy by the EU,” Siregar said.

Asked about the letter, a spokesman at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta said: “It is up to the member states to decide.”

Rafael de Bustamante Tello, first counsellor at the EU embassy in Jakarta, said: “The EU considers the RED II to be in line with the EU’s international commitments, including its WTO obligations.”

The European Commission will make sure the “achievement of the EU’s renewable energy goals goes hand in hand with the fair and rules-based international trade regime that we strongly defend,” he said.

De Bustamante also said that during an EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting in Brussels last week, the two blocs decided to form a new joint working group to address issues related to palm oil.

In January last year, the WTO ruled in favor of Indonesia on several challenges related to anti-dumping duties that the EU had imposed on its biodiesel exports. The duties had effectively stopped the trade, but exporters were able to resume shipments to Europe around April.

Palm oil, mainly produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, is used as feedstock for biofuels, as well as in a wide variety of goods, ranging from food to soap. (ANTARA)