GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

Jakarta’s COVID-19 positivity rate too high by WHO standard
Detik (https://tinyurl.com/y583o95q); Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/y4uhftmr)

Jakarta Health Agency head Widyastuti said that the COVID-19 positivity rate in Jakarta had reached 7.4 percent in the past week, exceeding the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) at 5 percent.

According to Widyastuti, this figure should serve as a warning to the Jakarta administration and its satellite cities.

The accumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Jakarta has reached 23,266 people, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 116,871, as of Wednesday.

 

Workers to hold protest against omnibus bill on August 14
Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/y4b2fqou); CNN Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/y3endhjn)

Confederation of Labor Associations secretary-general Damar Panca said the government and the House of Representatives had failed to listen to the aspirations of people rejecting the job creation omnibus bill.

“We have expressed our rejection during several hearings. However, until now the House, the government and the President have not accepted our aspirations,” Damar said during an online press conference on Thursday.

Thus, a number of labor groups under the Labor with the People Movement (GEBRAK) plan to hold protests again in rejection of the bill. The protests are to be held in front of the House of Representatives in Senayan, Jakarta, on Aug. 14.

“We will take action on Aug. 14, before the President’s speech. 10,000 GEBRAK members will be joining, including workers, farmers, fishermen and students. And not only those from Jakarta,” Damar said.

 

House asks home minister to monitor regulations derived from Inpres
Antara News (https://tinyurl.com/y3aeaq3e)

House of Representatives Commission IX member Saleh Partaonan Daulay has asked the Home Minister to monitor the derivative regulations and policies of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 6/2020 concerning increasing discipline and law enforcement of health protocols in the prevention and control of COVID-19, which was signed by Jokowi on Wednesday.

According to Saleh, the Inpres cannot be implemented directly but requires the issuance of region-based derivative regulations.

“If it needs to be done quickly, the home minister must monitor the drafting of regional regulations. If necessary, the minister should also specify a deadline. That way, the derivative [regulations] to the Inpres can be implemented simultaneously across Indonesia,” said Saleh in a written statement on Thursday.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES

Govt to distribute cash transfers for low-income workers in September
CNN Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y65yzeu6), (https://tinyurl.com/yyvd4rpb) 

The government will provide cash transfers (BLT) for 13.8 million workers earning less than Rp 5 million (US$343) per month to maintain household purchasing power, which is under heavy pressure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the program would cost Rp 31 trillion in total. Civil servants and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) employees will be exempted from this program. Moreover, the workers should be registered in the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan). SOEs Minister Erick Thohir said the Rp 600,000 cash transfer would be provided for four months, starting from September, and carried out by the Manpower Ministry.

 

Jokowi to merge aviation and tourism SOEs
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y2zkphdh); Republika, (https://tinyurl.com/y6pkutao); Antara News, (https://tinyurl.com/y6mr35vz) 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered his ministers to consolidate state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the aviation and tourism sectors. “The contraction should become an opportunity to consolidate and transform both the aviation and tourism sectors by managing flight routes, determining ‘hubs’ and ‘super hubs’, as well as merging SOEs in these sectors,” President Jokowi said in a Cabinet meeting today. He also hopes the consolidation will strengthen the foundation of the aviation and tourism sectors. Under the previous SOEs minister, Rini Soemarno, the government aimed to appoint PT Survei Udara Penas as the head of the aviation holding company.

 

Auctions delayed in virus-stricken oil and gas industry
The Jakarta Post, (https://tinyurl.com/yxv8nxhy) 

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s acting oil and gas director general, Ego Syahrizal, has said realized investment in 2020 only hit US$5.56 billion in June, or 38 percent of the year-end target of $14.5 billion. The realized investment consists of $4.85 billion in the upstream industry and $710 million in the downstream industry. The fall in investment was caused by decisions by oil and gas companies to step back from auctions after oil prices collapsed, forcing the companies to cut capital spending by around 30 percent, Ego explained. But he is optimistic at the possibility of signing off three to five blocks by the end of the year, out of 10 blocks initially planned for auction this year. The 10 blocks have an estimated potential of 5 trillion cubic feet (bcf) of gas and 3.436 million barrels of oil (mmbo).

 

Jakarta plans to combine Gojek and Grab into one application
CNN Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y6kxjdmx); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/y5h92o4j) 

Jakarta’s Transportation Agency plans to develop an app that will cover all transportation modes, including ride-hailing companies Gojek and Grab. Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo said the super app would integrate all transportation modes in the Greater Jakarta Area. The app, however, will not be a substitute for the current Gojek and Grab apps. Rather, it can be used by users to compare the cost of using online and conventional transportation modes, Syafrin added.

Download PDF