VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A man stands in the ruins of a building that was destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 14, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

VOInews, Jakarta: The leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand on Thursday warned Israel against a potentially "catastrophic" ground ofensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, amplifying a growing chorus of international concern.

Urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "not to go down this path", the trio of Commonwealth nations issued a rare joint statement expressing deep and growing worry about Israel's prosecution of the months-long war.

"About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families," the group of US allies said. 

"An expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go."

In the face of mounting international pressure and a death toll that Gaza authorities say has now topped 28,000, Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead.

He has promised Israeli forces will soon conduct a "powerful" operation in Rafah -- a city filled with countless Gazans displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory.

Israel believes that Hamas operatives responsible for the October 7 attacks that killed around 1,160 people in Israel are holed up in the area, along with some of an estimated 130 hostages seized by the Palestinian Islamist group.

Source : AFP

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesians began voting for a new president on Wednesday, with three candidates battling to lead Southeast Asia's biggest economy and the third-largest democracy in the world. The relocation of the archipelago's capital from Jakarta to Nusantara on the island of Borneo and the fight against corruption are two key issues in the election that will determine who succeeds President Joko Widodo afer a decade in power.

Here are the candidates:

- Prabowo Subianto

Prabowo Subianto, 72, of the Advanced Indonesia Coalition is the frontrunner in the contest, with polls projecting he will win a majority. He currently serves as defence minister afer losing to Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 elections.

Schooled internationally, the defence chief is a retired military general who was fired in 1998 for allegedly ordering the kidnapping of tens of pro-democracy activists in unrest following the fall of Suharto.

Together with President Widodo's 36-year-old son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his vice presidential candidate, Subianto has been outspoken about carrying on the incumbent leader's policies. Subianto has pledged to eradicate childhood stunting due to malnutrition by ofering free lunch to students, one of his most popular campaign programmes. While the prevalence of stunting has been falling, it remained at 21.6 percent in 2022.

The defence chief has also committed to maintaining a nickel ore export ban imposed by Widodo to increase national income from the mining sector and turn Indonesia into a developed nation.

"In less than two years, our income has increased 10 times to $33.3 billion because of this," Subianto said at a campaign event.

He has also changed his public persona to woo voters, using a slick social media strategy that has seen videos of him dancing go viral. It has transformed his image from a figure of strength to what some users have called a "cute grandpa".

- Anies Baswedan

Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan has portrayed himself as the anti-establishment candidate in Indonesia's presidential campaign, climbing to second place in polls on the back of a message that includes opposing a costly relocation of the capital to Borneo. That line of attack has seen his stock rise, and he is now polling in second as the main challenger to Subianto.

Anies Baswedan, 54, is nominated by a coalition in which his National Democratic Party is supported by two Islamic parties. He is popular with conservative Muslims and Islamists in the Muslim-majority country. Baswedan has repeatedly claimed democracy has sufered under Widodo's rule. The former minister of education also opposes the idea of moving the capital to Borneo. 

Baswedan has promoted pouring money into more than a dozen existing cities to boost economic equality instead of developing a new capital from scratch. However, Baswedan previously courted controversy in Jakarta's 2017 governor election when he faced Christian candidate Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and was accused of stoking religious divides.

- Ganjar Pranowo

Ganjar Pranowo pushed his humble background to emerge as a leading Indonesian presential candidate, but his campaign has flared out in the lead-up to the election.

The former governor of Central Java for two terms, Pranowo was seen as Subianto's main opponent afer being nominated as the candidate for a coalition led by Widodo's ruling Indonesia Democracy of Struggle Party (PDI-P). Baswedan has since overtaken him in the polls, however.

The 55-year-old silver-haired politician is focusing on bread-and-butter issues, prioritising access to healthcare, housing and food. He has picked current chief security minister Mahfud MD as his running mate and put corruption eradication high on his campaign agenda.

Like Subianto, he is promising to carry on Widodo's policies, including moving the capital. Pranowo and Mahfud are the only candidates who have experience in three areas of power: legislative, executive and judicial. Initially viewed as the presidential frontrunner, he lost support over his opposition to Israel's participation in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup last year, which Indonesia was set to host but lost the rights over the issue.

Sumber : AFP

VOInews, Jakarta: The Overseas Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) in Singapore went directly to residential areas of Indonesian citizens (WNI) in the country to socialize the rules that apply so that the general election runs orderly and peacefully.

"What we often do is direct socialization down to the pockets of the community," Panwaslu Singapore Chairperson Nandha Handharu told ANTARA on Thursday (1/2/2024).

Nandha Handharu also said that Panwaslu always prioritizes socialization about the rules and prohibitions in elections, both those that apply in Indonesia and in Singapore, so that Indonesian citizens there do not violate election rules and Singapore government rules and participate in elections peacefully.

"For example, it is prohibited to document (voting in the voting booth), prohibited to campaign outside the campaign time, prohibited to campaign in places of worship, in government places. Then, about the neutrality of ASN, members of the TNI, Polri, and so on," he said.

Meanwhile, Nandha said that in Singapore, there are 106,515 people registered in the Permanent Voters List (DPT) to take part in the vote which will be held on February 11, 2024.

"In Singapore's regulations, there is a Public Order Act, which prohibits every citizen from voicing their political aspirations without permission from the local government," said Nandha.

Meanwhile, Nandha said that in Singapore, there are 106,515 people registered in the Permanent Voters List (DPT) to take part in the vote which will be held on February 11, 2024.

ANTARA

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia hopes that the Comprehensive Partnership Action Plan for 2024-2025 between Indonesia and the Netherlands can be implemented well. She conveyed this when meeting Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday (31/1/2024).

"I reemphasize several priorities for bilateral cooperation, including energy transition, digital industry, and also the return of Indonesian historical items," She said in a statement received by Indonesia Window here.

Foreign Minister Retno also emphasized the importance of the two countries to continue working together in strengthening sustainable palm oil production.

"As is known, 14 percent of Indonesia's total exports to the Netherlands are palm oil," she said.

Meanwhile, on the same occasion, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot conveyed the Dutch commitment to cooperate in the context of the development of the new capital. Especially related to water and sustainable cities.

"The Netherlands also expressed full support for Indonesia's application to become a member of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the planned meeting of ASEAN and EU Foreign Ministers, Retno highlighted the progress of the discussion of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) between Indonesia and the European Union.

"I emphasize that the principle of mutual benefit is the guideline in the negotiations. This spirit needs to be maintained in finalizing the negotiations," she said.

Since 2016, Indonesia and the European Union have conducted 16 rounds of negotiations and the 17th round of negotiations will be held in February 2024 in Indonesia. Foreign Minister Retno hopes that the negotiations will be finalized in the near future.

"I reiterated several EU policies that are considered detrimental to Indonesia, including those related to palm oil and EUDR (EU Regulation on Deforestation). I also emphasized that the commitment to downstream industry will continue to be carried out by Indonesia. I hope the Netherlands will continue to provide support for the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiations," she said.

In a bilateral meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister, the Indonesian Foreign Minister also discussed the Palestinian issue. According to Retno Marsudi, Indonesia regrets the actions of countries, including the Netherlands, which stopped aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

Retno Marsudi also encouraged the importance of a comprehensive, credible, and transparent investigation immediately, so that all allegations of the involvement of a number of UNRWA personnel in the October 7 attack gain clarity.

"Freezing financial support to UNRWA will greatly worsen the humanitarian situation which is already very bad," she said.

The meeting between the two Foreign Ministers was the third since September 2023. According to Retno, the Netherlands is the first largest trading partner from Europe and also the first largest investment partner in Europe for Indonesia, including in tourism.