Yesterday in politics: Prabowo in the US, DPR on Sumatran aid
Jakarta (ANTARA) - A number of political developments were reported by ANTARA News Agency correspondents on Wednesday (18/2). The following is a selection of stories still worth reading this morning.
**1. Cabinet Secretary: President visits US to discuss economic cooperation**
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said President Prabowo Subianto's working visit to the United States is focused on discussing strategic cooperation across various economic sectors.
He noted that President Prabowo arrived in the United States on Tuesday (17/2) local time. The Garuda Indonesia-1 aircraft carrying the President and his entourage landed at Andrews Military Base, Washington DC, United States.
**2. Home Affairs Minister: Displaced persons in three provinces drop dramatically**
Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the Task Force for Accelerated Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for Sumatra, Tito Karnavian, revealed that the number of displaced persons resulting from hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra has fallen dramatically from millions to just over ten thousand.
"The number of displaced persons was previously more than two million; it has now fallen to approximately 12,994 people living in tents," said Tito during the Post-Disaster Recovery Task Force Coordination Meeting at the DPR building in Jakarta on Wednesday.
**3. Cucun responds to Jokowi: KPK Law impossible without Presidential Letter**
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal stated that the drafting of any law in the DPR cannot proceed without a Presidential Letter (Surpres).
He made the statement when asked by journalists about the comments of seventh President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) regarding the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law.
**4. DPR and government decide to expedite emergency response funds for Sumatra**
A coordination meeting between the DPR Task Force and the government resolved to expedite emergency response funding for disaster management in order to avoid convoluted bureaucracy.
Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, chairing the coordination meeting with cabinet ministers at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, said the ready-to-use budget at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stands at approximately Rp4.3 trillion, whilst the funding requirement for emergency response exceeds that figure.
**5. DPR requests government complete Sumatran temporary housing before Lebaran**
The House of Representatives has requested the Task Force for Accelerated Rehabilitation and Reconstruction to target completion of temporary housing construction in Sumatra's disaster-affected areas before Lebaran, or Eid al-Fitr.
This was among the conclusions of the coordination meeting between the DPR's Sumatra disaster task force and the government task force. Cabinet ministers and heads of relevant agencies were in attendance at the coordination meeting.
**1. Cabinet Secretary: President visits US to discuss economic cooperation**
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said President Prabowo Subianto's working visit to the United States is focused on discussing strategic cooperation across various economic sectors.
He noted that President Prabowo arrived in the United States on Tuesday (17/2) local time. The Garuda Indonesia-1 aircraft carrying the President and his entourage landed at Andrews Military Base, Washington DC, United States.
**2. Home Affairs Minister: Displaced persons in three provinces drop dramatically**
Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the Task Force for Accelerated Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for Sumatra, Tito Karnavian, revealed that the number of displaced persons resulting from hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra has fallen dramatically from millions to just over ten thousand.
"The number of displaced persons was previously more than two million; it has now fallen to approximately 12,994 people living in tents," said Tito during the Post-Disaster Recovery Task Force Coordination Meeting at the DPR building in Jakarta on Wednesday.
**3. Cucun responds to Jokowi: KPK Law impossible without Presidential Letter**
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal stated that the drafting of any law in the DPR cannot proceed without a Presidential Letter (Surpres).
He made the statement when asked by journalists about the comments of seventh President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) regarding the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law.
**4. DPR and government decide to expedite emergency response funds for Sumatra**
A coordination meeting between the DPR Task Force and the government resolved to expedite emergency response funding for disaster management in order to avoid convoluted bureaucracy.
Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, chairing the coordination meeting with cabinet ministers at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, said the ready-to-use budget at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stands at approximately Rp4.3 trillion, whilst the funding requirement for emergency response exceeds that figure.
**5. DPR requests government complete Sumatran temporary housing before Lebaran**
The House of Representatives has requested the Task Force for Accelerated Rehabilitation and Reconstruction to target completion of temporary housing construction in Sumatra's disaster-affected areas before Lebaran, or Eid al-Fitr.
This was among the conclusions of the coordination meeting between the DPR's Sumatra disaster task force and the government task force. Cabinet ministers and heads of relevant agencies were in attendance at the coordination meeting.