Indonesia Morning News For January 14, 2019

Ministry Sets Aside Rp15 billion for Recovery of Tourism
The Ministry of Tourism has prepared a budget of Rp15 billion for the recovery of tourism in Banten and Lampung. The two province were hit by a deadly tsunami in the Sunda Strait on December 22, 2018.
— Tempo.co

Indonesia Ranks 9th as Safest Country for Tourism
Gallup’s Law and Order Report data in 2018 has showed that Indonesia ranked 9th as a country with the highest level of law and orderliness.
— Tempo.co

Jokowi challenger Prabowo moots Trump’s tax-cut formula to spur Indonesian economy
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is proposing deep tax cuts to stimulate South-east Asia’s largest economy, copying the playbook successfully used by US President Donald Trump.
— The Straits Times

Indonesia rocked by more than 11,000 earthquakes last year
Indonesia was rattled by more than 11,500 earthquakes last year, almost double the annual average of the past decade, according to the nation’s meteorological agency.
— The Straits Times

Indonesia’s danger zone: Construction starts over buried bodies
Thousands of people in Indonesia will have to be relocated after their land turned into mud when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Sulawesi in September.
— Al Jazeera (video)

Gov’t Seeks to Reassure HIV Patients Over Drug Supplies
The Ministry of Health has sought to reassure HIV patients that sufficient antiretroviral drugs will be available for their treatment after some hospitals had run out of supplies.
— Jakarta Globe

Indonesia’s first election debate to air on Thursday
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his challenger, Mr Prabowo Subianto, will face off on Thursday in the first of five public debates to make their pitch to voters, particularly the undecided, ahead of the 2019 election.
— The Straits Times

Indonesia Plans Investment Tools to Keep Amnesty Funds Onshore
Indonesian authorities are working to develop new investment instruments with “good” returns in a bid to retain onshore more than $10 billion that was repatriated under a tax amnesty program three years ago, with officials acting before a lock-in period on the funds expires later this year.
— Bloomberg

E-commerce businesses subject to new tax law in April
E-commerce businesses will soon be required to have tax numbers (NPWPs) and report their recapitulation of trade transactions to the Finance Ministry following its newly issued regulation on taxation for online trade transactions.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesia resurgence gathers pace as global investors pile in
The return of yield-hungry investors is signalling the worst may be over for Indonesia.
— Bangkok Post

Indonesia prepares instruments with attractive “returns” to hold repatriation funds
Bank Indonesia, the Ministry of Finance, and Financial Services Authority (OJK) are preparing financial instruments with attractive returns, so that repatriation of tax amnesty funds after the lock-up period ends remains in the country.
— Antara News

Number of Foreign Workers Only Around 95,000: Manpower Ministry
Director General of Manpower Placement Development and Expansion of Employment Opportunities of the Ministry of Manpower Maruli Apul Hasoloan said the number of Foreign Workers (TKA) up to December 31, 2018, was 95,335 people.
— Tempo.co

Indonesia plans more flexible working hours for women
INDONESIA’S Manpower Ministry is planning to issue a regulation that will make it possible for women to work more flexible hours and thus increase their participation in the labour market.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Indonesia to teach kids disaster-readiness
Indonesia is ramping up efforts to better prepare for natural disasters, starting with schoolchildren.
— The Straits Times

111 Survive E. Nusa Tenggara`s Sinking Vessel: Rescue Agency
A passenger vessel with 111 people onboard sank in the vicinity waters off Pasir Island of Nagekeo District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, on Friday morning. All the passengers survived the incident, a rescue worker said.
— Tempo.co

Indonesia’s plans to regulate ride-hailing rates threaten Grab, Go-Jek models
Indonesia is preparing to launch regulations fixing the rates drivers and riders for ride-hailing services such as Grab and Go-Jek receive, two government officials said this week, creating potential obstacles for the companies’ expansion.
— Reuters

Hundreds of Indonesians report getting ripped off by Bitcoin investment scam
Much has been written about the potential profits and pitfalls in investing in cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin.
— Coconuts Jakarta

Indonesia: Palu struggles to rebuild three months after tsunami
It has been more than three months since a devastating earthquake and tsunami destroyed parts of Indonesia’s islands of Sulawesi.
— Al Jazeera (video)

Indonesia’s Medco Energi could offer $436m for Britain’s Ophir
Indonesia’s Medco Energi International Tbk PT said on Friday a possible all-cash takeover offer by its unit for Ophir Energy would value the British firm at 340 million pounds ($435.88 million).
— Deal Street Asia

Indonesia will not fall apart: Jokowi
Presidential candidate number 01 Joko Widodo, or commonly known as Jokowi, stressed that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) would not fall apart.
— Antara News

Indonesian airlines slash fares after outcry over holiday surge
Indonesian airlines reduced air fares for some local routes by as much as 60 per cent starting last week in response to a backlash over a surge in ticket prices during the peak holiday season.
— The Straits Times

New era for Jakarta traffic
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has spoken. “We cannot continue like this,” the former Jakarta governor told a coordination meeting on Greater Jakarta traffic earlier this week.
— The Jakarta Post

Catholic clinic races to help Sunda Strait tsunami victims
With aid agencies reporting that long-term benefactors are reeling from “donor fatigue” after Indonesia was battered by natural calamities last year, a Catholic-sponsored mobile clinic is proving a godsend for victims in need.
— La Croix World

Surabaya gets Kompas smart city award, adds to lists of prizes
Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java, has been ranked first on the 2018 Indonesia’s Smart City Index by Kompas Research and Development Center, adding to the list of honors bestowed on the city, and its mayor Tri “Risma” Rismaharini, in the past few years.
— The Jakarta Post

Riau resident accused of igniting forest fire after throwing cigarette butt
Dumai Police arrested a resident for allegedly starting a forest fire in Purnama subdistrict in Dumai, Riau, after he threw a lighted cigarette butt onto peatland.
— The Jakarta Post

Lombok Earthquakes Calms Mount Agung Volcanic Activity
The eruption of Mount Agung on Thursday, January 10, 2019, was the second time the mountain had erupted after the previous occurrence in December 20, 2018. Prior to these two eruptions, Mount Agung had been in a state of sleep for five months during the Lombok earthquake.
— Tempo.co

Sukabumi residents warned to stay alert to new landslides
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned the residents of Cimapag Hamlet in Sukabumi District, West Java Province, to stay alert to the threats of new landslides due to ongoing intense rainfall.
— Antara News

Tornado hits Bandung, damaging houses
A puting beliung (weak tornado) reportedly hit residential areas in Rancaekek subdistrict, Bandung, West Java on Friday afternoon.
— The Jakarta Post

One Child Dies after a Landslide Hits Sukabumi Railway Project
National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said landslides occurred in the Kampung Nyalindung railroad construction project at Cicurug Urban Village in Sukabumi, West Java, where a 10-year-old child was reported dead.
— Indonesia Expat

Consecutive Earthquake; BMKG: Sunda Strait`s Sea Level is Normal
Meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG) reassures that there is no increase in the sea level around the Sunda Strait region, West Java following the consecutive earthquake that hit the area in the past two days.
— Tempo.co

Students break record after producing 1161 sheets of recycled paper.
Up to 550 elementary school students of private elementary school SD Tarakanita 5 in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, broke the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) by producing 1,161 sheets of recycled paper on Saturday.
— The Jakarta Post

Russian Tourists Fall into Deep Ravine in Bali
Two tourists were hospitalised after falling into a 10 metre deep ravine in Pecatu, North Kuta, Bali, on Wednesday afternoon, around 1.40pm.
— Indonesia Expat

Ex-mily chief wants his photo be taken out from Prabowo-Sandiaga billboard
The former Indonesian military chief Gen (ret.) Gatot Nurmantyo has asked that his photograph could be taken out from the billboard of presidential candidate pair Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno.
— Antara News

Fake cosmetics: Unwanted freckles in Indonesia’s budding beauty industry
Angelina Merlyana, 31, found the skin on her face burning not long after she applied aloe vera soothing gel from a famous Korean skin care brand that she had bought online.
— The Jakarta Post

House speaker calls for vigilance against natural disasters
Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Bambang Soesatyo has called for vigilance against possible natural disasters.
— Antara News

Feature photo Artem Bali

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Indonesia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Indonesia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities and is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Indonesia morning news for January 14 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on January 14, 2019
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Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.