INDONESIA TO ENSURE HAZE-FREE ASIAN GAMES by Fardah

 Jakarta, Feb 10, 2018 (Antara) - South Sumatra, scheduled to co-host the 18th Asian Games with Jakarta from August 18 to September 2, 2018, has in the past borne witness to forest fires that produced smoke or haze shrouding several cities.

       However, over the past couple of years, the Indonesian authorities have managed to significantly reduce the number of wildfires, particularly on Sumatra Island, thereby preventing the occurrence of haze.

        Despite the success, the Indonesian government remains vigilant and is currently implementing preventive measures to ensure that forest fires will not occur during the implementation of the 18th Asian Games.

          "This year, we host the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang. I remind you to not let the smoke from forest and land fires arise during the implementation of the event," President Joko Widodo noted during a briefing to participants of the National Coordination Meeting on Forest and Land Fire Control in 2018 at the State Palace in Jakarta on February 6, 2018.

          He pointed out that haze from forest and land fires will tarnish the image of Indonesia and disrupt flights during the Asian Games.

          "We have to work hard to ensure that the Asian Games run smoothly without any disturbance from forest and land fires," he stated.

          Participants at the meeting comprised governors, heads of districts, mayors, commanders of the regional military command, regional police heads, military resort commanders, military district commanders, and resort police heads from areas prone to forest and land fires.

JAKARTA TO UTILIZE MOMENTUM OF ASIAN GAMES TO BOOST MSMEs by Fardah

 Jakarta, Feb 8, 2018 (Antara) - The 18th Asian Games, a regional sporting event for Asian nations, will be co-hosted by Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, simultaneously from August 18 to September 2, 2018.

        This will be the second time that Indonesia will host the Asian Games after the first one was held in Jakarta in 1962.

        After more than five decades, the Asian Games will finally return to Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, a metropolitan hosting more than 12 million people during the work week.

        Some 9.5 thousand athletes, 2.5 thousand personnel of the Asian Olympic Council, and 5.5 thousand technical delegates from 45 countries will participate or be involved in the event. At least 3.5 thousand media representatives are expected to cover the event.

        The presence of such a large number of people from various countries offers a good opportunity for Jakarta and Palembang to promote their tourist destinations and products of micro, small, and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs).

        The 2018 Asian Games offers the necessary momentum to boost the capital city's economy, Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Salahudin Uno remarked.

        Uno has encouraged some 20 thousand small and medium entrepreneurs to produce and sell souvenirs during the largest regional sporting event in the Asian continent.

        "The 2018 Asian Games offers the best momentum to boost the capital city's economy by involving MSMEs. It is time for us to create job opportunities," Uno, a successful businessman, noted recently.

        Uno remarked that souvenirs produced by MSMEs will cater to the needs and interests of athletes, officials, spectators, and tourists.

FLOODING FORCES THOUSANDS OF JAKARTANS TO EVACUATE by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 7 , 2018(Antara) - Parts of Jakarta have been inundated since Feb 5 following heavy rains in the capital and the neighboring city of Bogor, which always sends flash floods to the downstream areas of the metropolitan city.

          Floods have led to the forced evacuation of a total of 6,532 people in East and South Jakarta on Feb 6. 
     The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has in fact warned of flooding in several regions across Indonesia during rainy season.

        The agency forecast that hydrometeorological disasters are forecast to be dominant in Indonesia in 2018.

         "It is forecast that natural disasters in 2018 will be dominated by floods, landslides, and whirlwinds. It is estimated that 90 percent of the natural disasters would be hydrometeorological in nature," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the BNPB, warned in Jakarta, in December 2017.

         The rainy and dry seasons are expected to be normal this year. There will be no El Nino, which could cause drought, nor La Nina, which could trigger excessive rains.

        "However, floods, landslides, and whirlwinds will remain dominant, but their locations will depend on the intensity of precipitation," he noted.

        Flooding in Jakarta was particularly triggered by the overflowing of Ciliwung River from Bogor and six other rivers passing through the capital city following incessant, heavy rains on Feb 4-5.

         The Bogor and Jakarta authorities announced the highest disaster alert level on Feb 5 when the water level at the Katulampa Dam in Bogor touched 240 centimeters (cm) at 9:05 a.m. local time, as the Ciliwung River swelled significantly following incessant rains in the river's upstream areas since the previous day.

GOVT LAUNCHES COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE PROGRAM FOR ASMAT TRIBE MEMBERS by Fardah

   Jakarta, Feb 6, 2018 (Antara)- Following all out efforts involving several ministries, police and military, among others, measles outbreak and malnutrition problem in remote Asmat District in Papua Province, have finally been overcome.

        Since the plague affected Asmat in September 2017, a total of 71 people, mostly children, had died due to malnutrition and measles outbreaks.   
   Based on data received from Asmat Humanitarian Task Force, until Jan 30, there were still 26 inpatients in Asmat in which 19 people of them were treated in Asmat Regional Hospital, and seven patients were treated in the Hall of Indonesia Protestant Church of Asmat due to malnutrition.

        Earlier, a total of 47 people had been treated in the church in which 40 people of them have returned home.

        Health Minister Nila Moeloek on Jan 31, 2018, said as many as 13,300 children in Asmat District, Papua Province have been vaccinated as an effort to control the epidemic of measles.

        Not all sub-districts in Asmat District, however, get the vaccination due to difficult terrain.  
   The ministry has alternately deployed medical personnel and delivering aid packages every 10 days to handle measles and malnutrition in Asmat.

        The medical personnel provided assistance in hospitals and church halls, Moeloek revealed.

        "Some people have returned to their homes. However, if they do not get any health supervision from medical institutions, there could be recurrence of the disease," she explained.

        The emergency situation has been considered overcome and now the Government is focusing on long-term community health care and improvement program in Asmat.

INDONESIA ENCOURAGES GROWTH OF DIGITAL ECONOMY by Fardah

 Jakarta, Feb 5, 2018 (Antara) - The internet has triggered the Fourth Industrial Revolution, marked by the development of digital economy globally, among others.

        Digital economy functions primarily by means of digital technology, especially internet-based electronic transactions.

        Digital economy permeates all aspects of society, including the way people interact, the economic landscape, the skills required to secure a good job, and also political decision-making.    
  Globally, digital economy contributes 22 percent to the economy, while digital technology applications are set to contribute US$2 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2020.

        In Southeast Asia, the value of online trade is estimated to reach $88 billion during the period between 2015 and 2025 for various apparel, electronic, household, and food products.

       With the world's fourth-largest population and a large number of internet users, Indonesia has the potential to become the biggest digital economy in Southeast Asia, both in terms of the manufacturing and retail industries.

        This aspect was highlighted by Google and Temasek, foreign investors in Indonesia, through a study on digital economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to an article by the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

        Based on the study, Indonesia has witnessed a 19 percent annual increase in the number of internet users, with this figure possibly reaching 215 million before 2020.

        Apart from a high growth in the number of internet users, Indonesia has also experienced a significant growth in the online market or e-commerce. Currently, the percentage of e-commerce transactions in Indonesia is high, reaching about 36 percent and is estimated to reach $81 billion before 2025.

ENSURING PEACEFUL AND SMOOTH THIRD SIMULTANEOUS REGIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 5, 2018 (Antara) - Indonesia will hold the third simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada) in 171 regions, comprising 17 provinces, 39 municipalities, and 115 districts across the country, on June 27, 2018.

         The number of eligible voters for the pilkada 2018 reaches 158 million, or some 80 percent of the total number of eligible voters for the presidential and legislative elections in 2019, which is some 197 million.

         The pilkada is believed to be one of the largest elections held within a single day, in the world.    
    National Police Chief Tito Karnavian has expressed optimism that the next pilkada would be peaceful and smooth.

         Karnavian expressed belief that the Police Force has extensive experience in securing elections in the previous years, which were held peacefully and smoothly.
    The second pilkada was held on February 15, 2017, in 101 regions comprising seven provinces, 76 districts, and 18 municipalities across Indonesia. The first Pilkada was organized in 2015.

         Furthermore, Karnavian remarked that the levels of public awareness and maturity have also increased significantly in facing this celebration of democracy.

         Synergy between the National Police Force and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) is also becoming more harmonized, which means both institutions will be able to maintain security better.

         The Police chief admitted to have instructed his personnel to maintain neutrality for securing the elections.

         "I have instructed all police officers to remain on neutral ground," he revealed.