GENERAL NEWS AND HEADLINES

Jokowi demands transparency on aid recipient data
Kompas (https://tinyurl.com/y883u4ya); Liputan6 (https://tinyurl.com/y76eaw8j); TribunNews (https://tinyurl.com/y9euc9rr); Tempo (https://tinyurl.com/y7rjro7h); Republika (https://tinyurl.com/y7sylff9)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked for COVID-19 social assistance (Bansos) recipient lists to be published, in order to avoid skepticism regarding the distribution process.

“I ask for the Bansos recipient data to be made transparent. Who gets what kind of aid,” said Jokowi earlier today during a virtual meeting.

President Jokowi has also urged his team at the central government to continue coordinating with local governments during the Bansos distribution. This, he added, was to prevent the distribution from overlapping and to ensure that all citizens in need would receive the aid.

 

10,000 rapid test kits to be produced next week: Research minister
Republika (https://tinyurl.com/y7um8q2y); Detik (https://tinyurl.com/y8jngrkf)

Research and Technology and Higher Education Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said earlier today in a written statement that 10,000 rapid test kits would be produced next month.

Bambang added that the test kits were being produced by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in collaboration with Airlangga University and Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

In a separate occasion, national COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo said that the BPPT was currently waiting for two out of 10 remaining components required to produce the test kits. Once the components are complete, Doni predicted that the BPPT could produce up to 50,000 test kits monthly.

 

Jokowi asks for intense monitoring of vulnerable COVID-19 clusters
Republika (https://tinyurl.com/yd9omsgg); CNN Indonesia (https://tinyurl.com/ycwox7g5)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has urged all parties to tighten and intensify monitoring of a number of clusters deemed at risk of transmitting COVID-19 across the country.

“There are clusters of migrant workers, Jamaah Tabligh congregation members, Gowa international Islamic mass gathering participants, travelers and factories. They all need to be monitored intensively,” said Jokowi earlier today during a virtual meeting.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS NEWS AND HEADLINES 

April inflation only 0.08 percent: BI
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y77ppshj); Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ycb5mcp9); Kontan, (https://tinyurl.com/yc4kyo7s); Detik, (https://tinyurl.com/ycd2pwa2); The Jakarta Post, (https://tinyurl.com/y9xtjg3k) 

Statistics Indonesia has announced an April inflation rate of 0.08 percent, much lower than the 0.44 percent recorded in the same month last year. The annual inflation rate was recorded at 2.67 percent, slightly lower than the 2.83 percent in April last year. “This is unusual because usually there is higher demand for goods and services during the Ramadan month. There is lower demand of goods and services as a result of a slowdown in economic and social activities caused by the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB),” BPS head Suhariyanto said.

 

Property sector severely damaged by COVID-19
Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ybhfb4as); Tempo, (https://tinyurl.com/yct48mot) 

Indonesia Property Watch (IPW) executive director Ali Tranghanda said the property sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, as property sales in the first quarter of this year fell by 60 percent year-on-year (yoy) from the same period last year. Ali projected property sector growth this year to fall into negative territory. Furthermore, an IPW survey found property sales had dropped by an average of 50.1 percent in Greater Jakarta. The largest drop occurred in the residential segment under Rp 300 million (US$19,800), which decreased 68.8 percent yoy or 62.5 percent quarter-to-quarter (qtq).

 

Foreign tourist visits plunge 64.11 percent annually in March
Investor Daily, (https://tinyurl.com/y7pavxpu); Bisnis Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/y9whwcj7) 

Statistics Indonesia data show that foreign tourist visits fell 64.11 percent year-on-year (yoy) or 45.5 percent month-to-month (mtm) to 470,900 visits in March. Foreign tourist visits from January to March totalled only 2.61 million, a 30.62 percent drop from the same period last year. The occupancy rate of hotels with star classification in March dropped 16.98 percentage points mtm to 32.24 percent, a drop of 20.64 percentage points from the same period last year. Visits by Chinese tourists dropped the most yoy, falling 97.4 percent, followed by tourists from Hong Kong at 96 percent and Kuwait 89 percent. Meanwhile, tourist visits from Kuwait dropped the most mtm, down 83.41 percent, followed by Taiwan at 79.87 percent and Vietnam at 77.6 percent. Statistics Indonesia head Suhariyanto said the drop was caused by air travel restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

 

Tokopedia called in by govt to explain beach of 91 million data records
CNBC Indonesia, (https://tinyurl.com/ybnmbr2x, https://tinyurl.com/y9onjywksd) 

Communications and Information Minister Johnny Plate has called on homegrown e-commerce unicorn Tokopedia to explain a data breach that jeopardized the company’s 91 million data records belonging to its more than 15 million users. The meeting will discuss ways to inform users of potential data breaches, security system measures that could be taken and the potential impact of the data breach on account owners. Johnny added that the ministry’s technical team had coordinated with Tokopedia to follow up on the issue.

Tokopedia VP of corporate communication Nuraini Razak said during a press conference on Sunday that payment information had not been leaked, such as debit card, credit card and digital e-wallet OVO details. However, Drone Emprit and Kernels Indonesia social media expert Ismail Fahmi said that whereas passwords were not an issue as Tokopedia used a One-Time Password (OTP) system, the issue was the breach on personal data such as name, birthday, e-mail, mailing address and phone number, which exposed users to risks such as scams and phishing.

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