VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla stated that any conflict-hit country or territory should dare to involve a third party to act as a mediator to help resolve its problems. Kalla conveyed his ideas when giving a public lecture entitled "Dissatisfaction between Conflict and Civilization," as he had received the Honoris Causa Doctorate degree in the fields of peace and development from Hiroshima University of Japan on Wednesday. He received the title for his peace efforts to resolve a number of conflicts in Indonesia. The title was one of several similar titles that Kalla has received in various fields, such as politics, economics, management, government, and decentralization, both domestically and abroad.

"Every conflict always involves a big ego from each side, and each party has a vanity to continue the fight. Hence, a mediator can serve as a bridge to lower the ego and arrogance," he stated in a written speech received by ANTARA News in Jakarta on Wednesday. He remarked that every time a conflict occurs, especially an internal conflict within a country, the government must involve itself to stop it. The government should not assume that every community group in conflict always has a way of resolving the conflict.

"In a conflict, the assumption does not apply. The country must use its authority to stop the conflict as soon as possible, without any condition. The state should not give an opportunity to prolong the conflict," he remarked while sharing his experiences on resolving conflicts in Indonesia to academic leaders in Japan. He also stated that during a conflict, the principle of take and give must be implemented, which is used to persuade the parties to stop the conflict.

"Resolving conflicts should not use the principle of zero sum game. The methods of giving and receiving are always successful for resolution of a conflict. The mediator must find the point, so that no one feels superior to the others," he explained. (ANTARA)

Japan-based Hiroshima University has awarded the highest academic title of Doctor Honoris Causa to Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, an official stated in Jakarta on Wednesday. Vice President Kalla was bestowed the honorary degree for his contributions and dedication to maintaining peace and development in Indonesia, the university's representative remarked during the award ceremony, Wednesday.

During the event, President of Hiroshima University Mitsuo Ochi handed over the honorary degree certificate to Kalla, Communication and Public Information Deputy Assistant of the Vice President Secretariat Rusmin Nuryadi stated in Jakarta. Apart from being acknowledged for his efforts in maintaining peace and development, Kalla has also received several honorary degrees from numerous universities due to his contributions in the fields of politics, economy, management, public policy, and decentralization. In 2007, Malaya University in Malaysia and Japan-based Soka University had respectively presented a honorary doctorate degree to Vice President Kalla.

Meanwhile, in 2011, the Indonesia University of Education had awarded an honorary doctorate degree to Vice President Kalla followed by the Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, in 2013. In 2015, the vice president had received honorary doctorate degrees from Syiah Kuala University in Aceh and Andalas University in West Sumatra. Vice President Kalla also earned a similar honorary doctorate degree from the Rajamangala University of Technology Isan in Bangkok, Thailand, in March last year, while he received an honorary degree on Sociology of Religion from the Alauddin Makassar Islamic University in South Sulawesi this year.(ANTARA)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that he still has not signed the Law on the People's Consultative Assembly, the People's Legislative Assembly, the Regional House of Representatives, and the Regional Representative Council -MD3. The President wants an in-depth review of the Act. After attending the National Zikr and the Opening of the National Working Meeting of Dhikikir Hubbul Wathon Assembly, in Jakarta on Wednesday (21/2), the President said he understood the concerns in society related to the MD3 Law passed by the House of Representatives some time ago. The President hopes that Law on MD3 will not be the cause of the declining quality of democracy in Indonesia.

“I understand the unrest in the society. Many say that law and ethics are mixed up here. Some say, politics and law are mixed up. Those are the opinions I read, which I heard in the community. I do not think we all want to undermine the quality of our democracy. But until now it is already on my table, I have not signed, until now I have not signed, because I want to have in-depth study, whether I need to sign it or not,” the President said.

 
The President further said that he would not issue a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law related to the ratification of the new MD3 Law. Nevertheless, according to the President, based on the regulation, the public has the opportunity to sue the law to the Constitutional Court if they are not satisfied with the House's decision. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)

At least 3,000 personnel of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency -BNPB and the Regional Disaster Mitigtaion Agency -BPBD in Indonesia took part in the National Working Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali. BNPB Head Willem Rampangilei told reporters at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Wednesday (21/2) the working meeting was to discuss the performance evaluation of National Disaster Management Agency and Regional Disaster Management Agency in 2017. According to him, the evaluation will be the basis of his agenda in preparing the working strategy of 2018.

“Therefore, in this meeting we must, one, set priorities. Secondly, we can no longer deal with disaster in traditional ways, no longer with business as usual. We need innovation, breakthrough, technology utilization, capacity building development,” Willem Rampangilei said.

The Head of the National Disaster Management Agency explained that in 2017, his agency has succeeded in reducing the risk of disaster management. It can be seen from the death toll due to natural disaster that occurred in Indonesia. According to him, the condition is supported by the preparedness and awareness of all related stakeholders. Not only the government, but also the community played an active role in reducing the risk of natural disasters in 2017. The National Working Meeting attended by a number of Ministers of Work Cabinet took place from 21 to 23 February. (KBRN/ Hikmat Raharjo/AHM)