GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

Indonesia cancels haj pilgrimage over coronavirus concerns
The Jakarta Post (https://tinyurl.com/ybvrchka); TribunNews, (https://tinyurl.com/yanf2av5); KataData, (https://tinyurl.com/ydejh2dz); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/y8lt6bf6); CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ycm82h6t); Liputan6, (https://tinyurl.com/y7braxpg); Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/y97yzghs); CNN Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ya8pkt5v); Detik, (https://tinyurl.com/ybqyc4gq)

Indonesia has cancelled the haj pilgrimage this year for people in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation due to concerns over the coronavirus, the religious affairs minister said on Tuesday.

Saudi authorities have already said the haj and umrah (minor haj) pilgrimages – which attract millions of travelers from around the world – will remain suspended until further notice.

Fachrul Razi, Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister, said the decision to cancel the haj this year was made due to concerns over the coronavirus and ongoing travel restrictions.

Fachrul asserted that the cancellation of this year’s annual haj would apply to both regular and special pilgrimage participants as well as pilgrims with a mujamalah haj visa and special visa issued by the Saudi Arabian government.

The quota for Indonesian pilgrims this year was 221,000, with more than 90 percent already registered to go, according to the Religious Affairs Ministry’s website.

 

Poll body ensures preliminary stages of 2020 regional elections will occur on June 15
Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/ybge93pz); Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/y97eswu8)

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has ensured that the postponed preliminary stages of the 2020 simultaneous regional elections would take place on June 15.

KPU commissioner I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi said the decision was included in the revision of the KPU Regulation (PKPU) on the elections’ schedule.

The KPU, according to Raka, will revive the ad hoc organizing bodies, including the District Election Committee (PPK) and the Voting Committee (PPS).

Previously, the KPU, the government and the House of Representatives had agreed to postpone the voting day of the regional elections to Dec. 9.

 

COVID-19 not yet under control in several regions: President Jokowi
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y9jten2w); TribunNews, (https://tinyurl.com/y93azwwo); Liputan6, (https://tinyurl.com/ydfobbk2); Media Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ybftzhas)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has acknowledged that COVID-19 has yet to be brought under control in a number of regions across Indonesia.

The President, therefore, has given assurances that all places of worship and schools will be strictly monitored amid the outbreak.

President Jokowi has also asserted that the decision to open up public places will depend on scientific data.

“We will take into account the R0 [COVID-19 basic reproduction number] and Rt [effective reproduction number],” he said during his visit to Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta earlier Tuesday.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES

BPS: May inflation at 0.07 percent
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/yd6nsg82); Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y93akjle); Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/ycfop7nm); Investor Daily, (https://tinyurl.com/y8pux7h9) 

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded monthly inflation in May of 0.07 percent, lower than in April at 0.08 percent. Year-to-date (ytd), Indonesia’s accumulative inflation rate was 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, the year-on-year (yoy) inflation rate was 2.2 percent. BPS head Suhariyanto expressed concern at the low inflation rate in the month of the Idul Fitri holiday. “[May’s inflation is] too low compared with last year’s Idul Fitri, which was in June, at 0.55 percent,” Suhariyanto said.

 

Garuda terminates contracts for temporary workers, pilots
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/yd323kf8), (https://tinyurl.com/y975xxoj); CNN Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ya2bnmws); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/ybgcxqeh) 

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia terminated contracts for 800 temporary workers, including 181 pilots, on May 14. The laid-off workers were working for Garuda under three-month contracts. Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra said the move was necessary to improve Garuda’s financial condition, which has been under heavy pressure because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, low-cost carrier Citilink, a subsidiary of Garuda, resumed operations on Monday. Previously, Citilink had stopped operations from May 22 to May 31. Currently, Citilink operates 104 flights to 21 cities across the country.

 

Govt to open tender for 10 toll-road projects
CNN Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y93dng6q) 

The Public Works and Housing Ministry has announced a plan to open a tender for 10 toll-road projects starting from this month. Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said one of the offered projects was the 76-kilometer Kulon Progo-Yogyakarta toll road, the bidding for which has started. The other projects include the Cileunyi-Garut-Tasikmalaya (Cigatas) toll road, toll road access to the currently under-construction Patimban Port, the Bogor-Serpong Parung route, the South Sentul-West Karawang connecting route, toll road access to Semarang Harbor, the Semanan-Balaraja toll road, as well as the elevated Cikunir-Karawaci and Cikunir-Ulujami toll roads.

 

Foreign arrivals fall sharply in April
Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y9rg2qd3); Kompas, (https://tinyurl.com/y9aq7qb7) 

Indonesia recorded a drop in foreign arrivals of 87.44 percent year-on-year (yoy), 66.02 percent month-to-month (mtm), to 160,000 people in April, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data. April’s foreign arrivals were dominated by people from Timor Leste, who accounted for 83,500 people, 52.2 percent of the total arrivals in the month. Cumulatively, there were a total of 2.77 million foreign arrivals from January to April this year, a 45 percent decrease compared with the same period last year.

Download PDF