Govt to Study Establishment of New Agencies: VP Kalla

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The government is considering the possibility of establishing some new agencies, including one on national unity, Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla announced.

"The National Unity Agency is still in its preliminary stage. We will study it further, including the urgency to have one," Kalla said here Friday.

Similarly, there is a plan to establish a new presidential working unit on the national ideology of Pancasila, he added.

"If it (the board) is established at the ministerial level, then the official handling it will have to follow the same protocol as a minister. However, it does not mean an additional cabinet (minister)," Kalla said.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had agreed on the establishment of a National Unity Board, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto said.

The board will help settle conflicts in the society out of court, Wiranto confirmed.

In addition to the National Unity Agency, the government has also studied the plan to establish a National Cyber Agency (BSN), as currently, the National Crypto Agency was handling matters related to cybercrimes.

The government will speed up the establishment of the BSN in 2017, he stated.

President Jokowi had instructed Wiranto to immediately establish the BSN.

The president had directed that the agency be formed at the earliest to curb the spread of false news that could threaten people and harm their interests.

The BSN would be established in January and serve as a coordination body among the Cyber Defense Agency at the Defense Ministry, Cyber Intelligence at the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and Cyber Security of the National Police, Wiranto said. (WDY)