GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

Religious Affairs Ministry extends WFH period for civil servants
TribunNews (https://tinyurl.com/y7qp6vyw)

The Religious Affairs Ministry has extended the work from home (WFH) period for members of the civil service (ASN) until May 29.

This was stated in Religious Affairs Ministry circular No. 12/2020 on the amendment of circular No. 9/2020 concerning work system adjustments for the ministry’s personnel, abiding by the imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) policy and the extension of the conduct of service duties at home.

Religious Affairs Ministry acting secretary-general Nizar added that the work from home period was initially scheduled to end on May 13, but it was decided that it would be extended and adjusted according to the ministry’s future needs.

 

Ombudsman gets 387 complaints on declining quality of public services amid pandemic
Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/yclobsn9)

The Indonesian Ombudsman online COVID-19 complaints post has received 387 reports of public complaints concerning government policies on public services amid the COVID-19 pandemic as of May 12.

Of the reports, 278 were of complaints regarding the social assistance provided by the government for families affected by the outbreak, making up 72 percent of the total number of reports. There were 89 complaints about financial aspects, making up 23 percent, while eight complaints touched on matters of transportation and health services. The remaining four complaints were about security.

The ombudsman recommended that the government provide a person in charge (PIC) who would be responsible for handling public reports concerning the complaints about public services amid the pandemic.

 

Government to conduct PCR ‘pool tests’ in eight provinces
The Jakarta Post (https://tinyurl.com/y7xjkovr)

The government plans to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) “pool tests” in eight provinces that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, namely Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Bali, North Sumatra and South Sulawesi.

The pool tests will use multistage random sampling with epidemiology, statistical and survey approaches.

COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo said his task force was currently preparing a detailed plan on the pool tests, which would target 1,000 random people to get a rough idea of the rate of COVID-19 transmission in the epicenters of the outbreak.

“These 1,000 people will represent the community in each province so that we will be able to get data derived from the swab tests. We will also ask them a number of questions,” Doni said in a video conference on Tuesday.

 

House sitting period focused on tackling COVID-19
Media Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/ybmo5ozo)

House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani stated that the House’s previous sitting period of 2019-2020 essentially focused on curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia.

Puan ensured that the House had been working together and assisting the government to overcome the pandemic. She also acknowledged that the pandemic posed a serious threat to people’s health, welfare as well as the national economy.

She added that the state and the government must actively save its people from the possible threat of economic, health and welfare crises by forming policies and implementing programs intended to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES 

Finance Ministry: BPJS needs biennial premium evaluation
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y9r5ja4m) 

Kunta Wibawa Dasa Nugraha, an expert adviser to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has said a Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) premium hike is necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of the National Health Insurance (JKN) program, as well as to reduce the agency’s deficit. To do so, the premiums will be evaluated every two years by considering inflation in healthcare costs, the cost of running the program and people’s purchasing power, Kunta added.

 

Garuda to renegotiate $500m Islamic bond restructuring
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y887escj) 

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to renegotiate the company’s US$500 million global sukuk, which will fall due on Jun. 3. Garuda’s chief executive officer Irfan Setiaputra told reporters that Garuda was currently preparing the restructuring proposal. The State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry said the renegotiation would be done under a business-to-business arrangement, without government interference. Nevertheless, the ministry will still support Garuda by providing a bridging loan amounting to Rp 8.5 trillion ($570 million) that must be repaid later.

 

Arutmin, KPC, Adaro to extend mining contracts
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y93omnd2) 

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has said mining company PT Arutmin Indonesia has submitted a proposal for a mining-contract extension. Another mining company, PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), is still preparing the proposal and will submit it soon, the ministry’s environmental and technical director Sri Rahardjo said. Coal miner PT Adaro Energy CEO Garibaldi “Boy” Thohir said his company would submit the proposal next year. Boy Thohir also denied accusations that his company’s contract extension plan was made after the House of Representatives approved a revision of the 2009 Mining Law.

 

Central Jakarta District Court sets hearing session for Tokopedia’s data breach case
Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/yd447pay); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/y9hvwxqd) 

The Central Jakarta District Court has set the first hearing of Tokopedia’s data breach case for June 10. A lawsuit has been filled by the Indonesian Consumers Community (KKI) against e-commerce unicorn Tokopedia and Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate. On May 12, before the KKI filled the lawsuit, Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwijaya sent a mass email to all Tokopedia users acknowledging the data breach.

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