Indonesia concerned over EU deforestation law rules, not implementation timeframe 

Indonesia on Thursday said a proposed European Commission delay in the rollout of its anti-deforestation law was a good step but a more pressing issue was implementation regulations rather than timeframe. 

 

Coordinating minister of the economy, Airlangga Hartarto, told Reuters the European Union should cancel its country benchmarking on deforestation, where the commission will classify nations as high, standard or low risk in terms of compliance. 

 

The European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) bans EU imports of a range of commodities linked to forest destruction. 

 

Indonesia is the world's biggest producer and exporter of palm oil and has long been a fierce critic of the law, arguing it was hurting smallholders and discriminated against its palm oil industry. 

 

The EU was Indonesia's fourth-biggest export market in 2023 and the bloc receives 11.5% of its palm oil exports. 

 

"It's not about the delay but the implementing regulations," Airlangga said, adding that any postponement would ideally be for two years, not 12 months. 

"The EU has no right to be a rating agency," he said. 

 

Indonesia's palm oil association GAPKI, however, welcomed the proposal to postpone the implementation of the law, which it said would give the industry more time to prepare. 

 

"We will continue to advocate against which regulations are burdensome, or not in accordance with Indonesia's law ... the EU should also understand our conditions," Gapki chairman Eddy Martono told Reuters. 

 

Malaysia, the world's second-biggest producer of palm oil after Indonesia, has also strongly opposed the EU policy, calling it a deliberate effort to increase costs and barriers for its palm oil sector. 

 

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council on Thursday called the move a sensible decision that would allow supply chains globally to comply. 

 

Malaysia's commodities and plantations ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

 

Indonesian minister Airlangga said his country advocated against use of geo-tagging for product traceability. He also urged the EU to recognise existing mutual recognition agreements on sustainability on palm oil. 

 

Source: Reuters 

No fuel restrictions in October, Bahlil vows  

 

The energy minister says that restrictions will not be imposed on subsidized fuel sales this month as initially planned, to give the government more time to review eligibility criteria and other aspects of the policy. 

 

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia promises that restrictions on the sale of subsidized fuel will not kick in this month, as the plan is under review.  

 

“I want to say that, through October, there will be no fuel restriction yet,” he said on Monday, as quoted by Bisnis.com, speaking after a groundbreaking ceremony for phase two of the Cirebon-Semarang natural gas pipeline project at Batang Industrial Park in Central Java.  

 

Bahlil reiterated that the government was in the process of reviewing eligibility criteria for the fuel subsidy to ensure that no undeserving recipients were taking advantage of the policy.  

 

“The subsidy is for our poor brothers and sisters; don’t take what is rightly theirs. We are readying the regulation [and working on] the methodology and test case,” he said.  

Earlier in August, the energy minister said sales restrictions for two subsidized brands of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, namely Pertalite (RON 90) gasoline and Solar (CN 48) diesel, would enter force at the beginning of this month.  

 

A new ministerial regulation that revises Presidential Regulation No. 191/2014 forms the legal basis for the restrictions on sales of subsidized fuel.  

 

No regulation currently exists to specify who is eligible to purchase Pertalite, while the presidential regulation only stipulates restrictions for Solar.  

 

Also in August, the energy ministry proposed allocations in the 2025 state budget for 19.41 million kiloliters (kL) of subsidized solar and kerosene, slightly lower than the 19.58 million kL earmarked for this year. 

 

To soften the blow of the planned restrictions on subsidized fuel sales, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in late August that the government was considering offering discounted prices for on-demand motorcycle taxi drivers, known colloquially as ojol.  

 

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan first revealed the planned restrictions in an Instagram post on July 9, saying the government would make subsidized fuel available only to eligible customers. He also noted the move could help lighten this year’s budget amid declining revenue.  

 

The government has been mulling over ways to restrict subsidized fuel sales since 2022, when fuel subsidy spending overshot the budget allocation amid a surge in global oil prices and a weakening rupiah.  

 

However, it decided to delay the plan out of fear that the restrictions could hurt people’s buying power, especially after the government hiked subsidized fuel prices in 2022 to reign in the ballooning subsidy bill, the first time it had done so in years.  

 

Jakarta-based think tank Tenggara Strategics, an affiliate of The Jakarta Post, reported on Sept. 12 that the government planned to limit Pertalite for cars with a maximum engine capacity of 1,400 cubic centimeters (cc) and motorcycles with a maximum 250 cc capacity. Meanwhile, sales of Solar would be limited to vehicles with a maximum 2-liter capacity. 

 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said at the time that the restrictive policy was meant to improve the state budget and help reduce air pollution in Jakarta. 

 

Source: The Jakarta Post 

Mandilka MotoGP 2024 attracts 120 thousand spectators 

The total number of spectators of the 2024 MotoGP event, held in Mandalika, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on September 27-29, 2024, was recorded at 120 thousand, according to the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA). 

 

MGPA Director Priandhi Satria said here Sunday that there were 120 thousand people entering the venue during the three-day international racing event while the total number of printed tickets stood at 134 thousand. 

 

"This total number of spectators is counted based on those scanning the ticket barcodes at entry gates," he said. 

 

The MotoGP event, officially called the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, took place at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit. 

 

The recorded number of spectators was similar to that of Dorna Sports, he said, adding that the 2024 MotoGP event attracted more spectators compared to those in 2022 and 2023, which stood at 102,801 and 102,929 respectively. 

 

Besides the increasing number of spectators, all marshals appointed at this year's MotoGP event were locals, he added. 

 

"What is also worth noting here, Dorna and the riders of the 2024 MotoGP admitted that they were satisfied with the track condition, its cleanliness and paint, as well as better preparations," he said. 

 

Thus, for the next MotoGP event, the MGPA promised that it would make much better preparations. 

 

Meanwhile, Chairman of MotoGP Mandalika Troy Warokka appreciated local residents as the three-day MotoGP event had relatively run smoothly. 

 

NTB Tourism Office Head Jamaluddin Malady lauded the successful MotoGP event during which President Jokowi and several ministers were also present. 

 

Next year's MotoGP event would hopefully be better, attract more spectators, and bring more positive impacts on the region, he added. 

 

Source: Antaranews