VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) launched stamps depicting the four pillars of the MPR, in order to propagate the pillars.

The four stamps featured the Pancasila principles as the basis and state ideology, the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), and the symbol of the Garuda Pancasila with Unity and Diversity (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) as the country's motto).

The stamps issued  by the MPR in cooperation with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, PT Pos Indonesia, and Peruri, were officially launched at the  Parliament Building Complex, Jakarta, Friday (3/29).

Present during the event were MPR Secretary General Dr. Ma'ruf Cahyono, Director of Communication and Information of PT Post Indonesia Ikhsan Baidirus, a director of the Peruri Fadel, and Jakarta Regional IV Head of PT Pos Indonesia Onni Hadiyono. Also present were a number of bloggers and philatelists.

Cahyono said that for the first time, the four MPR pillars have been included on stamps. The launch of the stamps was also part of MPR's efforts to popularize the Four MPR pillars.

"Stamps with the 4 MPR Pillars have an extraordinary meaning. These stamps are ideological. Stamps contain the Preamble of  UUDs, the NKRI and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. This is in accordance with the MPR mission to take the four pillars to all levels of the society," he added.

Meanwhile, Director of the Communication and Information Post Ikhsan Baidirus said that the four MPR pillars are Indonesia-based platforms. "The Four MPR Pillars are part of the philosophy of the nation and the state and it is appropriate and suitable to glorify this state platform. One of them is in the form of stamps," he said.

According to Baidirus, stamps became ambassadors projecting the Indonesian nation to the whole world. So, stamps are very important and strategic. Therefore, the process (to be followed) before entering a stamp is not easy.

"We are very selective with images placed on stamps. The message conveyed on the stamps must be able to represent Indonesia. Therefore, it is essential to provide a very good, noble and beneficial place for the Four Pillars of the MPR on stamps," he continued.

In his report, MPR RI Head of Public Relations Siti Fauziah said that so far MPR has popularized the Four Pillars of MPR through various methods, including competitions for elementary and junior high school students, quiz competitions for high school students, constitutional debates, Four Pillar Camps, outbound programs, martial arts for students, training for university lecturers, and art and culture methods. "The stamp is a new method of popularizing the four MPR pillars," he said.

On that occasion, Siti Fauziah delivered a speech thanking various parties for their support, especially the Secretary General of the MPR, the Communication and Information Ministry, PT Pos Indonesia, and Peruri. (ANTARA)

In the wake of Disaster Preparedness Day on April 26, Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has planned to involve around 50 million people in a simulation and drill to test their preparedness in dealing with catastrophes.

"This year, we have set a target of 50 million participants to join a simple simulation drill," the agency's Deputy for Prevention and Preparedness, Bernardus Wisnu Widjaja, told journalists in Jakarta on Friday.

Those participating in the simulation and drill were expected to understand threats and how to conduct a secure self-evacuation," he said

Widjaja revealed that this year's Disaster Preparedness Day would highlight the theme, "Making women the central point of disaster preparedness, and home as the first school for families to understand the concept of secure self-evacuation".  

As a result of the Lembang Fault, the West Java area of Lembang was chosen to be the center for commemorating this year's Disaster Preparedness Day. The agency will conduct its simulation and drill from there and place a mark on the Lembang Fault.

As part of the simulation program, media workers would also be trained to better understand how to securely conduct their journalistic duties in disaster-struck areas, he said.

To reduce the risks of being struck by a tsunami, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency would conduct a tree planting program in the coastal forests of West Sumatra Province, and in the Pandenglang area of Banten Province.

The trees could reduce tsunamis up to 80 percent. "These are several other programs that we must hold to deal with the rising threat of disasters caused by damage to the environment or pollution," he said.

Indonesia is prone to a variety of natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and flash floods as it lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

In 2018, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that Indonesia was hit by a total of 11,577 earthquakes, several of which led to serious casualties, with the number increasing significantly as compared to 2017. (ANTARA)

Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar on behalf of Indonesian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the agreement of voluntary partnerships on forestry law enforcement, management and trade in timber products or FLEGT - VPA with the United Kingdom (UK) in Jakarta on Friday, March 30 2019. In this case, the UK was represented by the UK Ambassador to Indonesia, Moazzam Malik. The signing was a follow-up between the two sides as an important step to secure trade and wood products if the UK officially no longer joins the European Union. Met after the event, Director of Forest Products Processing and Marketing at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Dr. Rufi'ie explained that the agreement would make it easier for Indonesia to export wood products to the UK.

“This agreement will make our business export to UK easier because UK also will implement the same rule, the same regulation with EU considering the export import wood products into UK so if there is no FLEGT licensing we will have to do due diligence with our system, with our agreement timber products from Indonesia will not have to do due diligence,” said Rufi’ie.

Rufi'ie added that the certification license for the timber legality verification system (SVLK) scheme would be carried out by independent institution such as a confirmation assessment body that would be accredited by the National Accreditation Committee (KAN) on which the Indonesian government would only be a regulator and facilitator. (NK)

Indonesia is a country which is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. So, it can trigger natural disasters such as landslide, flood, and tsunami. This was stated by Deputy of Social and Humanitarian Sciences, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Tri Nuke Pudjiastuti at the "Focus Group Discussion on Role of Academic and Scientific Institutions in Making Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change in Indonesia at the LIPI Building in Jakarta on Wednesday. She said that to overcome the disasters,  some efforts are needed to strengthen the Indonesian government in making policy for disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation through the results of research conducted by LIPI.

“In principle, if we talk about risk reduction, the major aspect is how the role of science can be evidence-based for policy. So, we have some experiences that the recommendation of mitigating risk disaster to the Indonesian government in solving the problem is not done continuously,” said Tri Nuke Pudjiastuti.

Meanwhile, researcher of Society and Culture Research Center of LIPI, Lely Nurhidayah explained that it’s important to make experts network maps related to disaster risk reduction and climate change in Indonesia. She said that it aims at identifying challenges and providing anticipatory steps needed in making policy decisions on disaster risk reduction and climate change. (AF-VOI/RRI)