Day: April 10, 2023

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Tourism and Creative EconomySandiaga Salahuddin Unohas urged tourism and creative economy businesses not to increase the prices of products sharply during the 2023 Eid holiday season.”Tourists will not come again if tourism and creative economy businesses impose a price increase during the holiday. We do not want this incident to keep happening,” he emphasized during “The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno” in Jakarta on Monday. Meanwhile, for determining the entrance fee for tourist attractions, the minister gave full authority to the related stakeholders. However, his ministry has expressed the hope that a discussion will be held among stakeholders to adjust to the current situation in Indonesia, which is still in the pandemic recovery period. Furthermore, the minister said that he expects all tourism and creative economy businesses to focus on quality and sustainable tourism by providing a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable experience to tourists. This year’s Eid holiday is predicted to generate an economic turnover of Rp100 trillion to 150 trillion, with a 50 percent increase expected in people’s movement. At least 123.8 million people are expected to travel during the holiday. “During the Eid holiday, we are targeting 25 percent of the target for the movement of domestic tourists this year or 300 million more to be achieved,” Uno informed. Therefore, he asked all tourist and creative economy industry players to take advantage of the opportunity by increasing sales and turnover by providing the best services to realize safe, comfortable, and enjoyable tourism that can prompt tourists to buy local creative products. He also invited the related parties to continue to maintain the momentum after the community activity restrictions (PPKM) revocation by stepping up economic improvement. s a form of readiness ahead of this year’s Eid holiday, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has distributed a circular letter (SE) to regional tourism services, asking them to directly monitor the situation at tourist destinations during the holiday and review the readiness of infrastructure and human resources (HR) in their respective regions.

Source: Antara News Agency

Boyolali, C Java (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has noted that the prices of food commodities at Cepogo Market in Boyolali, Central Java, had decreased about two weeks ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festivities.The head of state, accompanied by Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, Head of Boyolali District M. Said Hidayat, and Deputy Head of Boyolali District Wahyu Irawan, visited the market and conversed with several merchants on Monday. “It turns out that (the prices of) everything had declined. For instance, bird’s eye chili is sold for only Rp20 thousand (around US$1.33) per kilogram (kg), as previously it was sold for Rp80 thousand (US$5.33) to Rp90 thousand (US$5.99) per kg,” he remarked. Jokowi also found that the price of chicken eggs had fallen to Rp25 thousand (US$1.66), from Rp30 thousand (US$2) per kg. Furthermore, garlic was priced at Rp24 thousand (US$1.6) to Rp25 thousand per kg, while chicken was sold at Rp32 thousand (US$2.13) per kg, he noted. Jokowi affirmed that the decline occurred due to the increasing supply, as stated by the economic theory. “According to economic theory, if the price goes down, it means that there is a lot of stock and supply,” he noted. enerally, the food stocks are still adequate, he remarked. “God willing, the prices will continue to fall. (The price of) rice had also slightly decreased by about Rp500 (US$0.03) per kg,” he stated. In addition to reviewing the commodity prices, the president disbursed basic commodity packages, cash assistance, and t-shirts at the Cepogo Market to the traders and local residents. Prior to visiting the market, Jokowi and his entourage went to Selo Market, which is located at the slopes of Mount Merapi, precisely at Selo Sub-district, Boyolali District, Central Java Province, to also review the food prices. Meanwhile, Trade Minister Hasan expressed gratitude that the prices had fallen ahead of Eid al-Fitr. He also noted that food supplies were safe until the holy day.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The national anti-money laundering committee will set up a joint task force to investigate suspicious financial transactions at the Finance Ministry that were disclosed last March, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs MahfudMD said.”The National Committee for Money Laundering Prevention and Eradication will soon set up a task force to supervise the follow-up to the financial analysis report or PPATK (Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center) analysis report, with the aggregate value (of the irregular transactions) surpassing Rp349 trillion (US$23.4 billion),” hesaid at a press conference here on Monday. The special task force’s supervision will start from the case-building process during which, it will prioritize the largest value financial analysis reports, he informed. “The committee (through the task force) will commence the case-building by prioritizing the largest-valued analysis report as it aroused public response, and it will start from the report with aggregate value surpassing Rp189 trillion (US$12.6 billion),” the coordinating minister added. The task force will consist of officials from various parties, namely the PPATK, the Directorate General of Taxes, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, and the Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency, he said. It will also include officials from the Supreme Court’s Special Criminal Agency, the Financial Services Authority’s (OJK’s) supervision department, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, he added. The special task force, whose establishment was approved at the national anti-money laundering meeting earlier on Monday, will work professionally, transparently, and accountably, Mahfud affirmed. Earlier, on March 29, 2023, Mahfud disclosed the findings of suspicious transactions valued at Rp349 trillion at the Finance Ministry during a meeting with legislators from Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR RI). The transactions may constitute a money laundering crime and involve 491 officials at the ministry, he added.

Source: Antara News Agency