VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Chairman of the Overseas Election Committee Beijing/ China/ Adanan Purba on Friday (9/2) said/ two polling stations for the 2024 general elections have been established in the yard of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing// The Overseas Election Committee Beijing will hold voting on February 14, 2024/ the same day as voting in Indonesia/ taking advantage of the Chinese New Year holiday in China on February 10-17, 2024//

Based on data from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing/ until November 2023/ there are actually 168,084 eligible  voters registered in China. They come  from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and  Hong Kong. In Beijing   the number of Indonesian citizens included in the Permanent Voter List as of June 2023 is 786 people/ coming from 22 provinces and cities in China and Mongolia// There were 448 voters in the list who used postal mail.  357 ballots had been sent while 91 others could not be sent because the address was incomplete or there was no telephone number//

In Jakarta, one of the market  centers of  milkfish ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations  is on Jalan Sulaiman, Rawabelong, West Jakarta. Once a year, the street, which is also famous as a  market selling various flowers, is filled with milkfish vendors. What's unique is that those who buy milkfish here, apart from people of Chinese descent, are also mostly Betawi native Jakarta people who are not of Chinese descents. The milkfish for the Chinese New Year celebration is different from the milkfish that is sold every day, because the milkfish for the Chinese New Year celebration are usually large in size.

As the Chinese New Year celebration approaches, Betawi people, who have extra money, will buy as much milkfish as possible to cook and send to their  parents in-laws and parents. In the Chinese community living in Indonesia, one of the main dishes is milkfish which is a symbol of prosperity or good fortune. Here, there is acculturation of Chinese culture and Betawi culture. This acculturation is demonstrated in the Chinese New Year celebrations on which the tradition of eating milkfish not only belongs to the Chinese ethnic group, but also becomes part of the Betawi ethnic tradition.

Betawi people usually cook milkfish in pindang, pindang milkfish. This typical Betawi milkfish pindang has unique characteristics that make it different from milkfish pindang from other regions. The difference is in the use of spices and the addition of soy sauce as a sweetener to the dish. The philosophical meaning from the Betawi people's perspective is that milkfish is known for having lots of thorns so that if you eat milkfish it is hoped that you will get a lot of good fortune. Meanwhile, in the Chinese community, large milkfish are deliberately chosen during Chinese New Year as a symbol of great fortune in life, and the large number of thorns in milkfish can be interpreted as meaning that as humans, in carrying out a complicated life, you need to be careful. The deeper meaning for the Betawi and Chinese people is that milkfish is a symbol of respect. A family member who does not bring milkfish to older people, such as parents and parents in-law is considered to have no decency. In the Betawi Community, a tradition that has been carried out for generations is that delivering milkfish to their in-laws is called ‘delivering’ or "Ngejot" milkfish. A daughter-in-law who does not send milkfish to her in-laws on Chinese New Year is considered a stingy daughter-in-law.

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Listeners,  The reason  why the milkfish is usually eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve, is that the word fish in Mandarin sounds similar to the word Yu which means prosperity. Because eating milkfish during Chinese New Year is believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the following year.

Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey, Achmad Rizal Purnama directly inspected the implementation of voting for the 2024 general elections in two Mobile Ballot Boxes in Turkey on  Tuesday (6/2 ). Indonesian citizens in Turkey who are in the working area of the Ankara Overseas Election Committee, started exercising their voting rights in Mobile Ballot Box 001 in Antalya and Isparta Cities and Mobile Ballot Box 002 in Kutahya City.

The series of elections in Turkey took place in a number of cities, namely at the Antalya and Isparta Mobile Ballot Boxes and the Kutahya Mobile Ballot Box on 6 February  2024. Izmir Mobile Ballot Box on  8 February 2024 Bursa Mobile Ballot Box on 9 February  and three Polling Places in Ankara,  Istanbul and Sakarya  on 11 February  2024. According to data,  the number of permanent voter lists -DPT in Turkey reaches 6,161 people.  Indonesian citizens in Turkey include high school students, undergraduate to doctoral students, couples married to Turkish citizens, spa therapists and expats.

Moreover, Ambassador Rizal in a press release from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia  Ankara on  Wednesday (7/2) stated that  the success of the elections is a shared responsibility of all elements of the nation.  The implementation of the general elections is to elect the nation's leaders and is a showcase of Indonesia's democratic maturity to the world. Therefore,  Indonesian Representatives in Turkey continue to work together with the Overseas Election Committee in Ankara so that the 2024 Elections will be honest, fair and transparent, and all processes run smoothly.  Indonesian Police Attaché in Turkey, Police Commissioner Harviadhi Agung Prathama conveyed that the implementation of the general elections in Turkey involves the support of local agencies.

Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) signed a Confidentiality Agreement (CA) memorandum with the Turkish energy company, Kipaş Holding last Saturday (3/2). Both energy companies have agreed to start cooperation in the energy sector in the geothermal sector. The signing of the agreement was carried out by Julfi Hadi as President Director of PGE and Mehmet Sisman from GM Kipaş Holding, witnessed by Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey, Achmad Rizal Purnama in Istanbul.

The Indonesian Embassy in Ankara has facilitated PGE's efforts to seek potential cooperation in geothermal exploration and operation with several energy companies in Turkey. Various meetings have been held to find the right potential partners. In the previous initial meeting, PGE and Kipaş Holding were interested in carrying out exploration cooperation in Turkey and Indonesia, and even opened up the possibility of joint investment in third countries. Apart from Kipaş Holding, Ambassador Rizal also facilitated PGE to meet with several other energy companies.

According to PGE President Director, Julfi Hadi, in Turkey PGE also met with several top energy companies. He hopes that in the near future, he can find 1 or 2 more potential partners for investment in Turkey.

The main factor that Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) is considering collaborating with Turkey is that the country has large geothermal energy potential. As the fourth country with the largest geothermal potential in the world, Turkey is also attractive to investors because it has a feed-in-tariff policy. This is in the good faith of the Turkish government to assure investors in the geothermal energy sector of long-term regulatory certainty and competitive price incentives.