Indonesians react over violence against Muslims in India by Fardah

Jakarta, March 4, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Pradeep Kumar Rawat, on February 28 visited Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD in Jakarta to discuss bilateral relations and security issues in the two countries. 

Following the meeting in Mahfud’s office, Rawat told the press that India is currently in a safe and peaceful condition. "Everything is peaceful. And as it is known, the situation in India is under control," Rawat said.

He also asked people to not trust the news developing outside because it was being done for certain vested interests.

"And, of course, we advise our friends to not believe in fake news that is being brought out by personal interests to mislead and by those trying to disrupt our country's diversity," he added.

At the same time, however, on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp in Indonesia, videos of communal attacks against Muslims and a mosque being set on fire during Delhi's recent violence were going viral.

The videos triggered concern and even anger, especially among Muslims, which constitute nearly 90 percent of Indonesia’s population of some 270 million.

Violence against the Muslim community in India, triggered by the passage of the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019, has so far left 42 dead and more than 350 injured.

On March 2, members of Muslim organizations in Medan, North Sumatra Province, held a rally in front of the Indian Consulate General, to express their solidarity towards Indian Muslims and condemned the bloody violence.

“We demand that the Indonesian Government take a stern stance on the conflict in India because our brothers and sisters of the same faith are being murdered,” Razali Taat, the rally coordinator said.

They demanded that the Indian Government stop “the genocide” against Muslims in the South Asian nation.

Next Friday (March 6), a much larger rally is being planned in front of the Indian Embassy in Jakarta by Indonesian Muslim organizations.

In addition, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) was unequivocal in denouncing the violence on Muslims in India.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms, the barbaric act of violence that reflects real extremism and gross violation of human rights," the council noted in a press statement signed by its chairman Prof. Dr Din Syamsudin on March 2.

The council urged the Indian government to take stern measures against those involved in the attack and protect Indian Muslims from cruelty in any form.

Indonesia prepares measures to handle COVID-19 cases by Fardah

Jakarta, March 3, 2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has now come under the clutches of Coronavirus (COVID-19), with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announcing on March 2, 2020, the country's first two cases.
 
A 64-year-old mother and her 31-year-old daughter have tested positive for the infection. The patients are currently in a stable condition while undergoing treatment in an isolation room of the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital in Jakarta.
 
The two Indonesians were in contact with a Japanese citizen, who had tested positive in Malaysia on Feb 27 after visiting Indonesia in early February.
 
The COVID-19 outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, is currently affecting 77 countries and territories across the world, with 91,347 cases, 3,120 deaths, and and 48,284 patients recovered, according to data on https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/, on March 3.
 
Jokowi has made assurance to the public that his government has already made necessary preparations to tackle the outbreak since it originated in China.
 
The government has readied over 100 hospitals applying WHO-required services, isolation rooms, medical equipment, and facility standards across the nation to handle coronavirus infection cases.
 
He also revealed that the government had formed a joint team comprising of military, police, and civilian members to control and manage the outbreak.
 
"We also have budget funding that will be prioritized to handle it (coronavirus). If we are not serious about handling it, it will be highly dangerous, and we should remain vigilant and exercise caution," he remarked.

Indonesia diverts attention to domestic tourists over coronavirus by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 19, 2020 (ANTARA) - Several tourist resorts and parks in the Lagoi integrated and exclusive tourist area on Bintan Island, Riau Islands Province, have ceased operations following the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China and 28 other countries.

Since January 23, 2020, the number of Chinese tourists on the island fell 100 percent after their government issued a travel advisory to the citizens over the coronavirus.
Not only in Bintan, but thousands of foreign tourists, mostly Chinese, canceled room reservations in and flight to Bali, North Sulawesi, and others, over the coronavirus outbreak, although Indonesia has, so far, remained free from coronavirus cases.
In fact, tourism industry around the globe has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak originating in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Official figures indicated that Chinese visitors accounted for 150 million overseas trips in 2019, while Chinese tourists spent $130 billion overseas in 2018, up 13 percent from the previous year, according to data of the China Tourism Academy.
Indonesia received 1.97 million Chinese tourists in 2017, and the figure increased to 2.7 million Chinese tourists in 2018. The Tourism Ministry had set a target to attract 3.5 million Chinese last year, but the realization reached 2.07 million owing to natural disasters and the impacts of the US-China trade war.
The Indonesian Tourism Ministry has forecast that the current onslaught of the coronavirus may inflict potential losses of US$2.8 billion on Indonesia’s tourism.

Indonesia plans medical center for disease control by Fardah

Jakarta , Feb 18 , 2020 (ANTARA) - It was a happy February 15, 2020 for 243 Indonesian citizens (WNI), who returned to their families after being in quarantine since February 2 inside Indonesia’s military facility on Natuna Island, Riau Islands Province. The 243 people were quarantined after being evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Of the total, 238 were evacuees, mostly Indonesian students, while the rest were members of the evacuation team and flight crew.

"Hence, take care of your health, keep exercising a bit, and just keep moving. Ensure sufficient nutritional intake to stay healthy. Do not forget to drink herbal medicine," Minister of Health Terawan Agus Putranto remarked while seeing them off on Natuna Island on February 2.

However, the controversy over choosing Natuna Island as a place to quarantine people has prompted Jakarta to consider building a special facility to handle contagious diseases as a precautionary measure against an outbreak in future.

When the government announced that the Indonesians from Wuhan would be quarantined on Natuna Islands, the locals had objected to the plan. They held protests and rejected their fellow Indonesians although none of them was infected by the virus.

The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) has a military base called Raden Sadjad Air Base equipped with a hospital with a capacity of up to 300 beds and managed by the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.

Natuna residents were upset when they learned of the presence of the Indonesians apparently as they were not well informed about the observation process.

Hundreds of residents opted to leave Ranai, Natuna, and Riau Islands a day after the government quarantined the Indonesians.

To make thing worse, the Natuna district administration issued circulars asking schools to close from February 3 to 17, prompting residents to return to their hometowns and seek refuge.

However, the Home Affairs Ministry issued a circular asking the Natuna district administration to revoke their circular.

Indonesia serious in anticipating COVID-19 by Fardah

Jakarta , Feb 13, 2020 (ANTARA) - Many people wonder how Indonesia has so far remained safe and free from the coronavirus (COVID-19), as the virus has claimed more than 1,300 lives and affected some 60 thousand people, mostly in Hubei Province, China, and in 27 other countries.
 
Indonesia has so far never reported any COVID-19 cases, unlike its neighbors, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines, which have reported a number of coronavirus cases. This fact has raised questions. Several foreign medical researchers expressed worry that the cases might have gone undetected in a country having a population of over 265 million.
 
A team of researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in the United States, in a study conducted recently said that Indonesia’s lack of confirmed cases “may suggest the potential for undetected cases”, as air travel may contribute to cases being exported from China. The concern was based on the high number of airline passengers traveling between Indonesia and Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China.
 
Indonesia’s Health Minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, however, dismissed the study, citing the ministry’s international-standard medical procedures.
 
"All have been thoroughly checked. Our medical kits (to check the possibility of coronavirus) are from the United States of America," Putranto remarked on Feb 11, 2020.
 
"We are transparent with our research. If there are any experts from WHO (UN's World Health Organization) and US researchers interested in taking a look at our medical tests, they are welcome to come to our lab," he said.
 
He further noted that the UN's health body had approved the medical procedures conducted by the government of Indonesia.
 
"If there is a request for surveys or research, please file a letter with us, but we expect there to be no statements discrediting a country's effort (to tackle the virus)," he added.

In response to the question, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) confirmed that 62 suspected coronavirus cases in Indonesia had tested negative.

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK DISRUPTS TOURIST BOOM FROM CHINA by Fardah

Jakarta, 6/2/2020 (Antara) - Chinese tourists had been a very lucrative segment for Indonesia over the last several years, as their numbers tended to increase every year.

Indonesia had intensified tourism promotion activities and opened direct flights connecting its cities and Chinese cities to attract more tourists.

During the 2016-2017 period, Chinese tourists were recorded as the largest group of foreign travelers visiting Indonesia, outnumbering Australian visitors and those from Singapore and Malaysia.

A total of 1,385,850 Mainland Chinese tourists visited Bali in 2017 making the PRC the number one source of foreign visitors to the Island, overtaking Australia.

Indonesia received 1.97 million Chinese tourists in 2017 and the number increased to 2.7 million Chinese tourists in 2018. The Tourism Ministry had set a target to attract 3.5 million last year, but it was missed due to natural disasters and the impacts of the US-China trade war.

The situation has gone even worse since late last year due to the outbreak of coronavirus in China that claimed over 560 lives and infected some 28,000 others.

According to data of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Indonesia missed its target of attracting 18 million foreign tourists last year, as the number of foreign tourist arrivals in 2019 reached 16.11 million, an increase from 15.81 million in 2018. The figure of 18 million visits was a revision from the previous target of 20 million foreign tourists.

Most foreign tourists visiting Indonesia last year were from Malaysia, with 2.98 million visits, or 18.51 percent; followed by China with 2.07 million visits, or 12.86 percent; Singapore with 1.93 million visits, or 12.01 percent; Australia with 1.39 million visits, or 8.61 percent, and Timor Leste with 118 thousand visits, or 7.32 percent.