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November
US Mid Term Election in Donald Trump Change of Policy Perspective
Written by Maryati
The people of the United States, have cast their votes in mid-term elections on Tuesday local time. This political event in the United States is a characteristic of the state political system that does not occur in other countries including Indonesia. There are at least two interesting things from the mid-term elections in the United States. First, in terms of numbers, voters in the general election are usually less than the presidential election. The impact of this also does not necessarily change the position of the President. The impact that is very likely to occur is a change in the President's policy changes, especially in the country.Through the general election, the people of the United States elected members of the Parliament, Conggres and Senate and also gave opinions on a number of actual political agendas.If at the parliamentary level the results show the victory of the opposition, then at least President Donald Trump will increasingly face obstacles in continuing his main policies in the country. If the results of the mid-term elections increase the number of seats of the Democrats, then the balance of power in Parliament will change. If for example the Democrats have won a majority vote both in the Congress and the Senate, a number of foreign policies will get indirect obstacles. Through the commission in the legislature, the Democratic Party can block the process of selecting government officials who take care of foreign policy. The majority of the Parliament and Senate members from the Opposition faction can also re-strengthen the urge to realize an investigation about indications of Russian interference that allegedly helped Donald Trump won in the last election. Changes in foreign policy did not directly change when the opposition won this mid-term elections.Whatever the Democratic victory in this mid-term election, what will happen is increasing domestic political pressure on Trump's policies. What is certain from this mid-term election is that the international community can see that the model of democracy in the United States is still running well according to the laws of the country.
November
Indonesia will hold a defense industry exhibition 'Indo Defense 2018 Expo & Forum' with the theme 'Building the Global Defense Partnerships to Secure the Future’ from November 7 to 10 2018. This exhibition is the eighth held by Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia and will be opened directly by President Joko Widodo. Indo Defense is the largest exhibition in Southeast Asia and is included in the calendar of world events. Thirty pavilions of state representatives will be present at the exhibition which is held every two years. At least, there are 867 participants from 59 countries. The Indo Defense 2018 Expo and Forum is considered important by many countries. At least, 10 ministers of defense or the same rank, a number of Chief of Staff of Forces and Commanders of various countries will also attend. This defense exhibition is an event not only as business promotion and technology transfer for the Indonesian Defense Industry, but also as a forum to strengthen the capacity of the local defense industry by building partnerships with foreign parties. In addition, the privilege of the exhibition is expected to attract around 25,000 visitors. President Joko Widodo is scheduled to inaugurate and provide the name of Indonesia's flagship product, "Medium Tank" produced by PT Pindad. The Pindad’s medium tank is targeted to complete various stages of testing before mass production in 2020. The tank is equipped with the latest technology, such as the independent alert system, hunter killer system, passive protection (laser warning system), battle management system, and level-5 protection. Giving the name for the Indonesian first production -medium tank is right moment for Indonesia to officially announce that Indonesia has been able to produce medium tanks for both domestic and international markets. It should be noted, even though it has not yet been officially named, several countries have expressed interest in the tanks. PT PINDAD Indonesia collaborates with FNSS Turkey to produce them. Indonesia's consistency in organizing the Indo Defense Expo is also evidence of carrying out the concept of defense diplomacy to enhance interdependence in a bid to achieve world peace and prosperity. This exhibition will also be an effective communication medium for establishing business contacts and technology transfer. This will contribute significantly to the development of the defense and security industry in Indonesia. In addition, the Indo Defense Expo 2018 Forum will also be an arena to strengthen Indonesia's strong commitment to maintain world peace.
November
Indonesia successfully held ‘Our Ocean Conference 2018’ -2018 OOC which took place in Nusa Dua, Bali on 29-30 October 2018. The conference which was closed on Tuesday (10/30/2018) produces 287 commitments worth US$10.7 billion dollars to answer the challenges of ocean management. In addition, the conference also produces a MPA-protected marine area reaching 14 million square kilometers.
A number of countries expressed their commitment in saving the environment during the 2018 OOC. Micronesia, for example, is committed to realizing 100% transparency in the tuna fisheries business. The country also calls for other Pacific countries to do the same thing. President of Micronesia, Peter Christian said that his country is targeting to achieve the commitment by 2023 through a combination of electronic and manual monitoring of large-scale fishing vessels operating in its territorial waters.
The European Union –UE reiterated 50 program commitments worth 550 million Euros, which encourage marine protection, such as handling plastic waste, building a more sustainable ‘Blue Economy’ and increasing marine research and surveillance activities.
Indonesia, which hosted the 2018 OOC, also gave a surprise by delivering 23 commitments. In the implementation of the 2017 OOC in Malta, the Indonesian government only delivered 10 commitments. For this year's OOC, the value of commitments delivered by Indonesia to carry out marine protection actions reaches around US$500 million dollars.
In addition to the government's commitment, a number of global companies also expressed their commitment in saving the ocean. Multinational company, Coca-Cola also contributed to this commitment. The company launched a global commitment called ‘World Without Waste’, with a target of 50% of its product packaging using recycled materials in 2025. By 2030, the target is 100% of the packaging that can be recycled. This commitment will be carried out globally in all countries where the business entity is located, including in Indonesia.
Although, there is no formal binding agreement for them to fulfill this commitment, Vice President of Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, Ketut Sarjana Putra believes that the commitment remains important. CI Indonesia, for example, made a commitment to the OOC 2016 to realize the Blue Eternal Fund as sustainable funding for marine conservation. He also claimed that the commitment had been reached and managed by the Kehati Foundation. In the OOC 2018, CI Indonesia made another commitment named ‘Blue Hello S’. This commitment is an incentive from the fisheries industry to provide funding for conservation areas in the core conservation zone surrounded by fisheries.
That’s Commentary!
October
Indonesian Language: The Language of Unity to advance Indonesia
Written by Maryati
Indonesia commemorates the Language Day every October. The selection of October as the momentum of the Language Day cannot be separated from the historical event on 28th of October 1928. At that time, Indonesian youths from various regions across the country held the second youth congress in Jakarta from 27th to 28th of October 1928. The meeting produced a concession known as the Youth Pledge. One of the points in the Youth Pledge is respecting the language of unity of Indonesia namely the Indonesian language. It should be noted that the Youth Pledge was initiated before the Independence of Indonesia. However, the youths from the entire region in Indonesia courageously decided to choose Indonesian language as the language of unity of Indonesia. Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Muhadjir Effendy remarked at the pre-opening of the 11th Indonesian Language Congress in Jakarta on Sunday, 28th of October 2018 that language is a substantial element that establishes unity and integrity of a country. Indonesia is destined to own a language namely the Indonesian language. Whereas, Indonesian language was not supposed to be chosen as the national language considering the number of its speakers was not significant. But, the awareness of respecting the language and the blessing from the God has made the Indonesian founding fathers choose Indonesian language over Malay language. Without realizing the importance of unity, they would have not chosen Indonesian language as the native language used in daily conversation and government affairs. Indonesian language is an important factor that influences the journey of Indonesian nation. Talking about Indonesian language resembles to talking about the Indonesian national identity that must be respected and prioritized just like the essence of the 1928 Youth Pledge. The Indonesian Founding Fathers have realized the importance of maintaining unity and preventing the selfishness of each region in Indonesia by adopting Indonesian language as the national language. It is hard to imagine if each region in Indonesia keeps maintaining their selfishness by imposing their local languages to be the national language of Indonesia. Indonesia would have never had a unitary language. That is the behavior that must be preserved by Indonesian society in this era. As remarked by Minister Muhadjir Effendy at the pre-opening of the 11th Language Congress in Jakarta, Indonesia has 3 major assets that can foster the country to be a great and advanced nation if they can be maintained. The three assets comprise unity, peace, and brotherhood. Indonesian language as the language of unity is one of the ways to make Indonesia a glorious and advanced nation.
October
Fulfillment of electricity needs is highly dependent on the availability of energy needed so that the synergy of fossil energy use, such as coal, natural gas and petroleum with renewable energy and new energy is increasingly important to ensure the sustainable growth of the Indonesian electricity sector. Related to the National Electricity Day October 27, Chairperson of the Indonesian Electricity Society (MKI), Supangkat Iwan Santoso said that the sustainability of the electricity sector is one of the main drivers of national economy and development. Currently, Indonesia's national electrification ratio only reaches 97.15%. Around 3% of electrification ratio needs to be pursued. This means that there are still around 7.5 million Indonesians who cannot enjoy electricity.
Meanwhile, addressing the national electricity problem, the government of Indonesia is trying to push electricity prices to be affordable and evenly distributed throughout Indonesia. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignasius Jonan when opening the 73rd National Electricity Day (HLN) program on Tuesday (October 23) at the Power - Gen Asia 2018 program, emphasized that electricity use must be evenly distributed at affordable prices.
Since 2014, the government has made the infrastructure design run with a 35,000 Megawatt (MW) project. This is aimed at reaching the national electricity equity and the most important impact is the effect of national economic resurgence. Towards the end of 2018, the government will decide to postpone a number of 35,000 megawatt (MW) electricity projects. But this does not mean that the project is stopped nationally. Minister Jonan emphasized that the postponement of several projects that would originally be carried out in 2019 to 2021, and even to 2026. Because, this is aimed at controlling imports in a bid to save the rupiah exchange rate against the unstable United States dollar. This postponement is a smart step to prioritize more macro-economic matters so that the economic stability of development that has been announced the government can be fulfilled.
What the government has done should also be supported by the private sectors. If the government cannot fulfill all of them, the private sectors need also to play their major role to address the shortcomings. Adequacy of electricity supply will ensure that the industry continues to grow, harmonize between urban and remote areas, such as access to communication, better lighting and transportation and to increase state revenues. But more importantly, electricity must be available to reach people who have not received electricity and is affordable for all of them throughout Indonesia.
That’s Commentary.
October
October 25 will be a new chapter towards the reconciliation of two countries on the Korean Peninsula that have been hostile for decades. The step forward of the two nations separated by the war will be realized after North Korea and South Korea held talks two days ago. The talks which also included the United Nation Command (UNC) were reported to have agreed on one important matter. Both Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to withdraw weapons and guard posts in Panmunjom. Panmunjom is an area designated as a Joint Security Area or also called a City of Armistice. The agreement agreed upon from the closed meeting was an attempt by the two countries to further reduce tensions since the two countries in Korea split due to the Korean war in 1950 - 1953. This encouraging step is a follow-up to the summit held last April. Previously, the army of the two countries since the beginning of this month had also begun to clear mines that were widely planted in the border area. The new step in the peace process has been officially announced by the South Korean Ministry of Defense. The official explanation also said that two days after troop withdrawals at the Panmunjom post, North Korea, South Korea and the UN Command would verify. From the agreement between the two governments and concrete steps taken, the international community may be more optimistic that the two Korean peace efforts will continue to progress. The two Korean people who are truly brothers can later visit each other more freely. Panmunjom which is a border city will no longer be a tense area. Peace measures that are very likely to eliminate or at least gradually reduce the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea are expected to encourage economic development and make people in North Korea more prosperous. How long will that hope be realized, we are still looking forward to the stages of the peace process.
October
Today, October 22, 2018, the Indonesian nation commemorates National Santri Day. Since the National Santri Day was launched by President Joko Widodo in 2015, the government and the people have specifically organized various activities to commemorate the National Santri Day. The theme for this year's commemoration is "Being with Santri, Indonesian Peaceful” The commemorative peak was held in Bandung, West Java on Sunday night.
Of course, there is a strong reason why specifically stipulated October 22nd as National Santri Day. This cannot be separated from the struggle to maintain Indonesian independence which was proclaimed on August 17, 1945. History has noted that in achieving and maintaining Indonesian independence, the ulamas, kiai, and santri have a major role. The stipulation on October 22 is based on the Jihad Resolution presented by the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, Kiai Haji Hasyim Asy'ari in Surabaya, East Java on October 22, 1945. Hasyim Asy'ari called on his students to join in the struggle to prevent Dutch troops from returning to Indonesia through ' Netherlands Indies Civil Administration '-NICA. Quoting President Joko Widodo's statement at the Santri Nusantara Grand Event in the context of 2018 National Santri Day in Solo Vastenburg Fortress, Central Java on Saturday night, the establishment of National Santri Day is a state respect and appreciation to the kiai, the ulema, the santri and all components of the nation who follow their good role models.
Being a santri means attending an Islamic education at Islamic boarding schools or Pesantren. Staying in the place until the education is complete has become the choice of some Indonesian people. The knowledge transfer is also more developed. Arabic and English become compulsory lessons in many Pesantrens today. In addition to the teachings of Islam, the students are taught to develop life skills and get vocational education. The goal is that students can become professional entrepreneurs in various fields. Santri and Pesantren continue to develop their major role not only in teaching Islam, but also as a socio-cultural institution in the formation of an ideal society. Islamic boarding schools have great potential to create new entrepreneurs and grow small and medium-sized industrial sectors.
With the enactment of the National Santri Day, this will further motivate the santri to strengthen their existence. As their predecessors did, they fought and maintained Indonesian independence. National Santri Day is expected to further strengthen the position of the santri in their major role of guarding the country, and the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. Being with Santri, Indonesian is peaceful. Happy National Santri Day!
October
October
Visit of the Palestinian Foreign Minister and the Palestinian Solidarity Week
Written by
Indonesian and Palestinian relations have been going on for a long time. Since Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1945, the Palestinians have supported it. But in fact, after World War II when many Asian-African countries gained independence, the Palestinians have lost their land rights to date.
Support for Palestinian independence has been strongly echoed when the Asian-African Conference was held in Bandung, West Java in 1955. Since then, Indonesia has kept sounding its support for Palestinian independence. To further emphasize, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds a Palestinian Solidarity Week which takes place on 13-17 October 2018. This special event held for the Palestinians is increasingly meaningful with the presence of the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad Malki in Indonesia.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno LP Marsudi in her press release said that the Palestinian Solidarity Week is enlivened by fun walk in Jakarta on Car Free Day, Sunday (14/10), interfaith meetings and dialogue. In addition, there is also the inauguration of Palestine Walk: Road to Freedom in Bandung. All of that is a form of continuity of Indonesia's commitment to Palestine in order to improve the understanding and care of the Indonesian people for the struggle of the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad Malki said that the Palestinians are grateful for the efforts made by Indonesia for the realization of Palestinian independence. He also believes that the election of Indonesia as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council –UNSC for the period 2019-2020, sounds not only the aspirations of the Indonesian people but also the Palestinian people. With Indonesia's position as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, according to Riad, the opportunity for the Palestinian people to be independent and free from the Zionist Israeli occupation is getting bigger and more open.
Previously, when receiving the visit of the US Secretary of State, Pompeo in early August 2018, Minister Retno L.P Marsudi reiterated that the rights of life of the Palestinian people must be respected. The independence of a Palestinian state is the main point for the creation of peace in the Middle East. But President of the United States, Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, after meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Natanyahu said that the United States has prepared a peace plan in the Middle East before the end of 2018. One of them is a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
What should be underlined is that the struggle of the Palestinians’ independence is not on the name of one religion, but it involves all the beliefs of the Palestinian people, which has always been a multi-religious society. Hopefully, Indonesia's position as a non-permanent member of the UNSC 2019-2020 will be able to help and smooth the independence of the Palestinian people.
October
Today, October 22, 2018, the Indonesian nation commemorates National Santri Day. Since the National Santri Day was launched by President Joko Widodo in 2015, the government and the people have specifically organized various activities to commemorate the National Santri Day. The theme for this year's commemoration is "Being with Santri, Indonesian Peaceful” The commemorative peak was held in Bandung, West Java on Sunday night. Of course, there is a strong reason why specifically stipulated October 22nd as National Santri Day. This cannot be separated from the struggle to maintain Indonesian independence which was proclaimed on August 17, 1945. History has noted that in achieving and maintaining Indonesian independence, the ulamas, kiai, and santri have a major role. The stipulation on October 22 is based on the Jihad Resolution presented by the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, Kiai Haji Hasyim Asy'ari in Surabaya, East Java on October 22, 1945. Hasyim Asy'ari called on his students to join in the struggle to prevent Dutch troops from returning to Indonesia through ' Netherlands Indies Civil Administration '-NICA. Quoting President Joko Widodo's statement at the Santri Nusantara Grand Event in the context of 2018 National Santri Day in Solo Vastenburg Fortress, Central Java on Saturday night, the establishment of National Santri Day is a state respect and appreciation to the kiai, the ulema, the santri and all components of the nation who follow their good role models. Being a santri means attending an Islamic education at Islamic boarding schools or Pesantren. Staying in the place until the education is complete has become the choice of some Indonesian people. The knowledge transfer is also more developed. Arabic and English become compulsory lessons in many Pesantrens today. In addition to the teachings of Islam, the students are taught to develop life skills and get vocational education. The goal is that students can become professional entrepreneurs in various fields. Santri and Pesantren continue to develop their major role not only in teaching Islam, but also as a socio-cultural institution in the formation of an ideal society. Islamic boarding schools have great potential to create new entrepreneurs and grow small and medium-sized industrial sectors. With the enactment of the National Santri Day, this will further motivate the santri to strengthen their existence. As their predecessors did, they fought and maintained Indonesian independence. National Santri Day is expected to further strengthen the position of the santri in their major role of guarding the country, and the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. Being with Santri, Indonesian is peaceful. Happy National Santri Day!