VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian and British governments are cooperating to organize health education seminar in Jakarta on 23rd and 24th March. The theme is “Advancing the practice of inter-profession and health education cooperation in Indonesia". Director General of Science, Technology and Higher Education Cooperation at the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Ali Ghufron said that this is the first time for Indonesia and the United Kingdom to hold a seminar in the field of health education. In a press conference held in Jakarta on Friday (23 March), Ali Ghufron hopes that through this seminar, health education in Indonesia will no longer be segmented, and there are collaborations from various health professions. This seminar discusses inter-profession cooperation of health personnel to be applied in 5 universities that will be the pilot projects.

“The things we share are that from United Kingdom -UK, there is National Health Service -NHS and from us, we have National Health Insurance -JKN. Well, we want this sharing to produce an approach, not only inter-professional education, but also health service outcome which is cost-effective in the future,” Ali Ghufron said.

Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education along with the Ministry of Health through the joint Committee agreed to select 5 universities. They are University of Indonesia, Gajah Mada University, Airlangga University, Padjadjaran University, and Hasanudin University. By 2018, there will be indicators of achievement and evaluation of how inter-professional education is run. Head of Agency for Development and Empowerment of Human Resources at the Health Ministry, Usman Sumantri said that his Ministry welcomes this cooperation. He also added that health problems cannot be solved by one profession only. Thus, he does support such cooperation. (VOI/Skr/Trans by Rhm)

President Joko Widodo does hope that Musabaqah al-Quran and Hadiths can bring about a positive impact on the life of nation and state. Speaking before the participants of Silaturrahim Musabaqah of the 10th Annual Al-Quran and Hadiths -Prince Sulthan bin Abdul Aziz al-Su'ud for Asia and Pacific at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, the President said, at this moment, Indonesia has become a role model for other nations due to its ability in managing pluralism. He hopes Muslims in Indonesia cannot easily be trapped in slander and hatred committed by irresponsible people. He perceives that Indonesian Muslims should be able to transmit valuable experience in maintaining this harmony to the world level.

“I also want to remind that from every Musabaqah al-quran and hadith event, I hope it brings about the trace and benefit in Indonesian nation’s life. Moreover, Indonesia today continues to be a role model for many countries in managing diversity because we have 714 tribes, more than 1.100 local languages, but we remain harmonious and united. So, we must keep being watchful so that the Muslims in Indonesia are not trapped with e slander and incitement hatred. In fact, we must transmit valuable experience of the Indonesian Muslims to the world in maintaining harmony, unity and maintaining peace in the earth of Allah,” President Joko Widodo said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Religious Affairs, Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin said that the Musabaqah Memorizing of Al-Quran and Hadith is intended to maintain and protect the sanctity of Islamic teachings from deviant and extreme religious understandings. That’s why, he said that there must be the understanding and practice of Islam which are based on ‘Rahmatan Lil 'Alamin’ by improving the quality of understanding and practicing the values of al-Quran and Hadith in the daily practice of life both in the context of the life of the nation and state. (VOI/Ndy/Rhm)

President Joko Widodo prioritizes the reduction of toll tariffs is only applied to logistic transportation. Speaking at the State Palace in Jakarta recently, the President said that he has asked the relevant ministries to reduce toll tariffs for logistic transportation. To reduce the toll tariff, President Joko Widodo mentioned several schemes that can be implemented by providing tax incentives in the form of tax holiday and extending the concession. Currently, the government is still calculating how to know exactly the amount of toll tariff reduction.

“I just ask Minister of Public Works, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, and Minister of Transportation, to possibly reduce the toll tariff related to our logistics transportation or transportation of goods as soon as possible next week at the end of this month. Please count it. Recently, I have received the calculation. But, there is no decision of tax holidays, and how long the concession is,” President Joko Widodo said.

Regarding some people who are concerned with the concession whether it could eliminate ownership of the state assets, President Joko Widodo affirmed that the concession to be taken does not eliminate the state ownership towards its assets. He also explained that the steps to reduce the toll tariff for logistic transportation are aimed at improving both the efficiency of goods delivery and the competitiveness of the Indonesian nation. (VOI/Ndy/Trans by Rhm)