Indonesia Highlights: Covid Cases Rise Again After Eid al-Fitr Holidays in Indonesia | Army General Appointed New National Disaster Agency | Indonesia Plans to Increase Wealthy Individuals’ Income Tax

KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s authority warned of increasing confirmed cases of Covid-19 just a week after the recent Eid al-Fitr holidays in the country.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Inaugurated Lieutenant General Ganip Warsito as the new National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head at the State Palace on Tuesday, May 25.

Ganip who previously served as the chief of general staff (Kasum) at the Indonesian Army replaced Lieutenant General Doni Monardo who will retire from the Army in June.

Below are the editors’ picks stories published on Kompas.com:

Covid Cases Rise Again after Eid al-Fitr Holidays in Indonesia

A spokesperson for the National Covid-19 Task Force Wiku Adisasmito warned of increasing confirmed cases of Covid-19 just a week after the recent Eid al-Fitr holidays in Indonesia.

“The number of confirmed cases increased significantly in less than two weeks after the Eid al-Fitr holidays. There is also an increase in the number of deaths. This is a warning for all of us,” Wiku told a streamed news conference on Tuesday, May 25.

As of May 23, the weekly number of confirmed cases increased by 36.1 percent. However, a week before the number of confirmed cases decreased by 28 percent.

The number of death cases increased by 13.8 percent, with recovery fell 2.7 percent compared to the previous week.

“The significant increase in confirmed cases occurred a week after the Eid al-Fitr holidays,” said Wiku.

He said the increase was contributed by at least 5 provinces, namely West Java, Jakarta, West Sumatra, Central Java, and Aceh.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/05/25/18185891/belum-sampai-2-minggu-setelah-libur-lebaran-kasus-covid-19-naik-signifikan.

Army General Appointed New National Disaster Agency

ANTARA FOTO/Setpres-Muchlis Jr Lieutenant General Ganip Warsito during an oath-taking ceremony as the new National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head at the State Palace on Tuesday, May 25. The newly-appointed BNPB head was inaugurated by President Joko Jokowi Widodo.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Inaugurated Lieutenant General Ganip Warsito as the new National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head at the State Palace on Tuesday, May 25.

Ganip who previously served as the chief of general staff (Kasum) at the Indonesian Army replaced Lieutenant General Doni Monardo who will retire from the Army in June.

“Mr. Doni has been my mentor since I was a cadet. This appointment is extraordinary and to replace him is not easy, I have experienced it before,” said Ganip in his speech at the BNPB headquarters in Jakarta.

Previously, Ganip has also replaced Doni as the commander of the 741/ Satya Bhakti Wirottama Regional Military Command (Korem) in Singaraja, Bali.

Ganip has also served as the commander of the Military Area Command (Kodam) XIII/Merdeka in Manado, North Sulawesi, and the commander of Joint Defense Regional Commands (Kogabwilhan) III.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/05/25/18031711/kepala-bnpb-ganip-warsito-gantikan-doni-monardo-itu-tak-mudah-saya-pernah.

Indonesia Plans to Increase Wealthy Individuals’ Income Tax to 35 Percent

Kemenkeu Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati speaks during a virtual press conference on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.

Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has proposed a plan to add a new 35 percent income tax bracket for individuals who earn over five billion rupiahs ($348,900) annually to collect more revenue.

Currently, the high-income individuals earning more than 500,000 million rupiahs ($34,900) pay a 30 percent tax rate a year.

“We plan to increase the income tax bracket for the wealthy individuals,” Sri Mulyani said in an online meeting with the House of Representatives Commission XI overseeing finance affairs on Monday, May 24.

The minister said that for the wealthy individuals who earn five billion rupiahs a year, the increase from 30 percent to 35 percent is not too significant.

“Only a few Indonesians who are included in this group,” she said. Taxpayers who earn up to 50 million rupiahs ($3,500) a year pay a five percent tax rate and those who earn between 50 million rupiahs and 250 million rupiahs pay a 15 tax rate.

Meanwhile, the taxpayers whose salaries are between 250 million rupiahs ($17,400) and 500 million rupiahs ($34,900) pay a 30 percent tax rate a year.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/05/25/165714074/indonesia-plans-to-increase-wealthy-individuals-income-tax-to-35-percent.