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The Star
7 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Prabowo rolls out state-backed co-ops to boost grassroots
JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto launches 80,081 cooperatives under the Red-and-White Cooperatives (KMP) programme during a ceremony in Bentangan village, Klaten, Central Java. In his speech on Monday, Prabowo described the cooperatives as 'a tool of struggle' for the poor and a way for 'economically weaker groups' to build collective strength. He framed the initiative as a 'strategic movement' aimed at challenging the longstanding economic dominance of big players. 'Initiatives like these aren't welcomed by major capitalists or large investors. 'In many of their minds, cooperatives may be seen as competitors. And there are certain countries that wouldn't be happy to see a big nation rise,' he said. The state-backed cooperatives will be equipped with warehouses, cold storage facilities, delivery vehicles and retail outlets, such as basic goods stores and pharmacies, in an effort to streamline supply chains and reduce logistical bottlenecks. They will also have access to 'super micro financing', Prabowo said, noting that the loan amounts will be smaller than those in typical microfinance schemes, with funds disbursed through state-owned banks. He added that the government had allocated up to 2.5 billion rupiah (US$150,000) per village for the programme's first year, sourced from existing village funds, though actual costs 'could be lower in areas with idle public assets'. Coordinating Food Minister Zulkifli Hasan, who also leads the task force behind the initiative, said that out of the 80,081 cooperatives established, only around 108 are ready to operate at the moment. 'We are preparing one million cooperative managers to support villagers and build a strong, prosperous Indonesia from the grassroots,' Zulkifli said during the launch. Suroto, chief executive of the cooperative organisation Inkur, criticised the government's push to establish 80,000 village cooperatives as a form of 'structural coercion', saying the pressure was evident in the withholding of village fund disbursements for the sake of KMP's establishment. Support letters and deeds for establishing cooperatives became requirements for villages seeking access to the second tranche of 2025 village funds. The policy stems from a Finance Ministry circular issued in response to Presidential Instruction No. 9/2025 on accelerating the formation of village cooperatives. 'This is a top-down push to create what are essentially fake cooperatives,' Suroto said on Monday. 'You cannot build real co-ops by force from the top. That goes against the whole idea.' He further argued that the government's move to set up cooperatives violates the Constitution's guarantees of freedom of association, assembly and expression, as the rushed rollout undermines the voluntary and democratic spirit of cooperatives by pressuring villagers into forming them. Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi denied in May that the effort is top-down, saying the government does not interfere in selecting cooperative leaders, as they are chosen through 'democratic voting' by villagers. 'The idea may be top-down, but the formation is still grassroots,' Budi said. Suroto highlighted a glaring disconnect between the government's push for cooperatives and the public's understanding on the ground. While officials were eager to scale up the initiative rapidly, he noted that many villagers still did not understand what a cooperative actually is. 'I have spoken to people in the field. The first questions they ask are: 'When do we get paid by the cooperative?' or 'When will the government pay our salary'?' he said. Without proper education and groundwork, Suroto warned, these newly established cooperatives risk becoming inactive or collapsing entirely, as they lack the grassroots understanding and genuine community ownership needed to sustain them in the long term. A new report by the Centre of Economic and Law Studies also highlighted serious fiscal and economic risks associated with the programme. — The Jakarta Post/ANN


Scottish Sun
22-07-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
My baby's bruise was dismissed as a birthmark only for a tumour to engulf her face – I want to warn all parents
'It's flipped our world upside down to be honest,' the mum says MOTHER'S INTUITION My baby's bruise was dismissed as a birthmark only for a tumour to engulf her face – I want to warn all parents AT first, doctors dismissed the growing mark on Natalie Brooks' newborn baby Brontë's ear as nothing more than a birthmark. What began in November 2024 as a flat, pale blemish about an inch wide soon started to protrude, eventually pushing the little girl's ear out by two to three inches and engulfing her tiny face. Advertisement 7 Eight-month-old Brontë Brooks after her ear ballooned from the tumour Credit: Kennedy News 7 The bruise on eight-month-old Brontë Brooks's ear after the tumour grew Credit: Kennedy News 7 The baby girl spent six weeks in hospital Credit: Kennedy News The mum-of-three said she "knew something was wrong" as her daughter cried non-stop and refused to feed, but was reassured by doctors it was nothing to worry about. 'We would never have expected it to turn out like this," the 29-year-old from Accrington, Lancashire, said. "It literally just looked like a little bruise next to her ear.' Brontë, now eight months old, was eventually diagnosed with kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) – a rare, aggressive vascular tumour. Advertisement The baby girl spent six weeks in hospital and has since developed Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP), a life-threatening condition that stops her blood from clotting. 'This tumour is benign, it's not cancerous, but she still might need chemotherapy," Natalie added. "It can be life-threatening if it's not managed.' She first noticed the blemish when Brontë was just two weeks old. Advertisement 'From about two weeks of age it appeared and it was just a little bruise and as the weeks went on, we noticed that it never actually went,' she said. 'It was flat and very light in colour. Slowly over the months it started to get slightly bigger. A mum dismissed her twitching eye as stress until discovering it was a rare brain tumour 'We went to the doctors and they just confirmed it was a birthmark so we came away and carried on.' But by January, the lump was darker, hotter, and growing fast. Advertisement 'It started to get darker and started to protrude out and get quite big,' said Natalie. 'Since the day she was born she was hysterical nearly every day. There was nothing we could do to calm her down. "I know every baby cries but this was just relentless. She wouldn't stop crying for about three or four hours non-stop. 'She'd refuse her feed and never finish a full bottle. She was awake every hour through the night. She was very restless and I never got a break. Advertisement 7 The 'little bruise' 29-year-old Natalie Brooks first spotted on baby Brontë's ear Credit: Kennedy News 7 'I knew something wasn't right but I didn't know what,' the mum says Credit: Kennedy News 7 Doctors told said the tumour would have been 'excruciatingly painful' Credit: Kennedy News 'I knew something wasn't right but I didn't know what.' Advertisement After pushing for tests, Natalie was told Brontë would need an MRI in five weeks. By May, the mark was growing so quickly that Natalie took Brontë to hospital herself. There, an MRI was done, and the tumour was finally diagnosed. 'My family were saying I couldn't leave it that long as it was getting so aggressive,' she said. Advertisement 'It was very hot to touch. It was very purple and looked angry. It was swollen and it was protruding and pushing her ear out. "It was behind her ear in a full circle.' Doctors told her the tumour would have been 'excruciatingly painful'. '[The diagnosis] was shocking. It's flipped our world upside down to be honest. It's crazy because it's super rare. Advertisement 'You never think becoming a parent of having this in your lifetime. "You never imagine being in the hospital for a long time and having a poorly baby.' On medication for life Brontë was discharged after six weeks, but just ten days later Natalie spotted it growing again. Tests confirmed her daughter now had KMP and her medication wasn't working. Advertisement 'They can reverse that with medications but the tumour that she has gives her body really low platelet levels so her blood actually can't clot,' Natalie explained. 'It can now because she's had transfusions… but we were also informed that this tumour will never actually go. 'It's just managed by medication – and they can't tell us how long she will be on it for, it could potentially be for life.' Natalie has set up a GoFundMe to help support the family as her maternity pay ends soon and she can't return to work in September. Advertisement What is KHE? Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a very rare tumour that forms from blood vessels, usually in babies and young children. It's not cancer, but it can still be aggressive, painful, and dangerous. The tumour typically appears in the skin, deep tissue or muscle and can cause swelling, redness and discomfort. What causes it? Doctors don't know exactly why KHE happens. It's not inherited and isn't caused by anything the parents did. It's believed to be a random overgrowth of abnormal blood vessel cells, often starting shortly after birth. What are the risks? Around 70% of cases can lead to a serious complication called Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). This causes a big drop in platelets, meaning the blood can't clot properly — which can be life-threatening if not treated. How is it treated? Children with KHE are usually treated with: Steroids Drugs like sirolimus to shrink the tumour Blood transfusions if platelet levels drop Chemotherapy in some severe cases In the UK, specialist centres like Great Ormond Street Hospital manage most cases. How rare is it? KHE is extremely rare - affecting around 1 in every 100,000 children. 'It takes the stress away as my maternity pay ends in a couple of weeks. 'Trust your instincts' I was due back at work in September and Brontë was meant to start nursery,' she said. 'Although it can't take the pressure of her illness away, it can take the pressure of the financial struggle. 'Brontë deserves some really nice days out when she's stable so it gives us the chance to do that as well.' Advertisement The mum now urges other parents to speak up if something doesn't feel right. 'Trust your instincts. Even if you're wrong and you go to the doctors and it's nothing it doesn't matter," she said. "You're not going to get told off. Just go and get it checked out as there is no wrong in doing that. 'You have your motherly instincts for a reason and I'm a firm believer that instincts don't lie.' Advertisement

04-07-2025
- General
Indonesian rescuers intensify search for 30 people missing after ferry sinks
GILIMANUK, Indonesia -- Indonesian authorities intensified on Friday a search operation for 30 people missing after a ferry sank near the tourist island of Bali. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving Ketapang port in East Java late Wednesday for a trip of about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to Bali's Gilimanuk port. The search and rescue operation was halted Thursday evening due to visibility problems and resumed on Friday morning with more than 160 rescuers including police and soldiers, said Ribut Eko Suyatno, the deputy chief of operations at the National Search and Rescue Agency. Three helicopters and a thermal drone were deployed to conduct an aerial search over the waters of the Bali Strait, while about 20 vessels were mobilized for the sea search, Suyatno said. As weather forecasts predict high waves and rough waters around the Bali Strait on Friday, he said at least three navy ships to being deployed to replace small boats. Videos and photos released by the agency showed rescuers looking desperately from rescue boats in the waters but no new survivors. The agency released the names of 29 survivors and six people confirmed dead late Thursday. It didn't release names of the missing, but according to the passenger manifest there were 30 people missing. On Friday, survivors were being treated at Bali's Jembrana Regional Hospital, while the bodies have been handed over to the families for funerals. Distraught relatives gathered at the port office in Gilimanuk, hoping for news of missing family members. Indonesian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Survivors told rescuers there appeared to be a leak in the engine room of the ferry, which was carrying 22 vehicles including 14 trucks. Ferry tragedies occur regularly in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, with weak enforcement of safety regulations often to blame. Fifteen people were killed after a boat capsized off Indonesia's Sulawesi in 2023, while another ferry sank in rough seas near Bali in 2021, leaving seven dead and 11 missing. In 2018, an overcrowded ferry sank with about 200 people on board in a deep volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people. In one of the country's worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. There were only 20 survivors. ___


Toronto Star
04-07-2025
- Toronto Star
Indonesian rescuers intensify search for 30 people missing after ferry sinks near Bali
GILIMANUK, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities intensified on Friday a search operation for 30 people missing after a ferry sank near the tourist island of Bali. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving Ketapang port in East Java late Wednesday for a trip of about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to Bali's Gilimanuk port.


Toronto Star
03-07-2025
- Toronto Star
Rescuers search in rough seas for 43 missing after a ferry sank near Bali, Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were searching Thursday for 43 people missing in rough seas overnight after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near Indonesia's resort island of Bali. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java's Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali's Gilimanuk port, a 50-kilometer (30-mile) trip.