GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

Anies claims Jakarta’s COVID-19 testing rate 10 times more than WHO standard
Detik (https://tinyurl.com/y3lc8f9c); Tempo (https://tinyurl.com/y68x3tr7)

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has attributed the surge in COVID-19 cases discovered in the capital to large-scale testing carried out by his administration.

“Yesterday, 43 percent of the country’s COVID-19 tests were conducted in Jakarta, hence the spike in confirmed cases,” Anies said during a virtual discussion earlier today.

The governor said the capital’s testing rate was ten times the standard set by the World Health Organization. “Our testing capacity, with tests conducted by both the government and the private sector, stands at 11,000 per day, which is ten times the WHO’s standard,” Anies said.

The Jakarta administration reported 1,114 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the capital’s highest one-day tally so far. Jakarta Health Agency's disease control and prevention division head Dwi Oktavia said the new infections were suspected to have occurred during the recent long weekends for Independence Day (Aug. 15 to 17) and Islamic New Year (Aug. 20 to 23).

 

Antigraft body reminds regional election candidates to submit wealth report
Tempo (https://tinyurl.com/y4f3vklz); Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/y589fdp5)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is in charge of assessing the wealth reports submitted by candidates in regional elections under the wealth reporting scheme (LHKPN).

KPK acting spokesman Ali Fikri has reminded candidates that the submission of the wealth report is one of the requirements for candidates who wish to join the regional elections, as stipulated in Law No. 10/2016.

“We remind all region head candidates to start reporting their wealth to the KPK, especially candidates who are not state officials and those who have never reported their wealth,” said Ali.

 

House criticizes child protection commission’s idea to criminalize word ‘anjay’
CNN Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/y2fhhgrz); Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/y4pdpct4)

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the recent assertion by the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) that using the word anjay – a euphemistic variation of the word anjing (dog) often used as a curse word – may be considered a form of criminal “verbal violence” must be further reviewed.

Dasco said Komnas PA’s recent statement was merely an interpretation in one specific case. Public controversy surrounding the issue was, therefore, unnecessary, Dasco said.

Dasco urged the public to focus instead on more important matters, such as curbing the spread of COVID-19 and implementing strict health protocol.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES

BI: Liquidity improves in July
Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/yxuwb9vv); CNN Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y2suxdv8) 

Bank Indonesia (BI) reported a 10.5 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase in Broad Money (M2) to Rp 6.6 quadrillion (US$449.4 billion) in July. Meanwhile, Narrow Money (M1) increased by 13.1 percent yoy to Rp 668.1 trillion, significantly higher than M1 growth in June at 8.2 percent yoy.

“The increase in M2 was due to a 17.6 percent yoy in net foreign assets,” BI stated in its report.

 

Trade Ministry curbs imports of consumer goods
Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/yyredodk); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/y2gks6tb) 

Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto has signed Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 68/2020 to curb the imports of footwear, bicycles and electronic goods.

“From May to June, there was on average a 50.6 percent increase in imports of consumer goods. Some goods even recorded a more than 70 percent increase,” Agus said in a written statement.

To slow down consumer goods imports, importers need to obtain import permits and surveyor’s report starting Aug. 28. Under previous regulations, importers only needed to have a surveyor’s report.

 

Toba Sejahtera appoints former Bapepam-LK chairman as commissioner
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y67dvtn3); Detik, (https://tinyurl.com/y3vuyd7r) 

Coal miner PT Toba Bara Sejahtera has appointed Fuad Rahmany as new independent commissioner, replacing Farid Harianto. Fuad served as the taxation director general at the Finance Ministry from 2011 to 2014. Previously, he was the chairman of the Capital Market and Financial Institutions Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK). Meanwhile, Bacelius Ruru and Djamal Attamimi retained their position on the board. 

 

PGN to cut 2020 capex by up to 60 percent
The Jakarta Post, (https://tinyurl.com/yyvk6dct) 

Gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) is looking to cancel most of its capital expenditure planned for this year to secure its cashflow amid weak global oil prices. The company has asked its board of commissioners for permission to disburse only between 40 and 44 percent of the initially budgeted US$705 million in capital expenditure for this year, PGN finance director Arie Nobelta Kaban said.

According to Arie, the company has disbursed 10 percent of the capital expenditure budget as of June. The company will focus spending on building a new piping system for the 50-year-old Rokan Block in Riau and on exploiting the oil-rich Pangkah Block in East Java. PGN’s upstream subsidiary, PT Saka Energi Indonesia, is the sole operator of the Pangkah Block, producing 3,024 barrels of oil per day in the first quarter.

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