VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The government through the Ministry of Religion  held an isbat session which stipulates 1 Shawwal 1440 Hijriah or Eid al-Fitr falls on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

"1 Shawwal 1440 H falls on Wednesday June 5, 2019," said Minister of Religion (Minister of Religion) Lukman Hakim Saifuddin at a press conference after the Islamic congregation hearing at the Ministry of Religion's office, Jalan MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta, Monday (3/6).

Previously, astronomers from the Falakiyah Ministry of Religion Cecep Nurwendaya, at the time of the exposure, stressed that no empirical reference to the visibility (appearance) of the Shawwal's initial hilal 1440H could be observed throughout Indonesia on Monday (3/6).

This was conveyed by Cecep when presenting the hilal position data towards the beginning of Shawwal 1440H / 2019M at the Isbat Awal Syawal Session 1440H, in Jakarta. "All regions of Indonesia have a negative hilal height. Hilal is sinking before the sun, "Cecep explained at the isbat session at the Ministry of Religion Office, Jakarta, Monday (3/6).

Present at a press conference after the isbat session, Minister of Religion Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, Chair of the MUI K.H. Yusnar Yusuf, and Chairperson of Commission VIII Ali Taher. Also present at the isbat meeting of ambassadors of friendly countries, leaders of mass organizations including NU and Muhammadiyah, astronomers from LAPAN and Boscha Planetarium, and Echelon I and II officials of the Ministry of Religion. (Ministry of Religion Public Relations )

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that an earthquake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, hit South Nias in North Sumatra Province on Monday afternoon.

The epicenter of the quake that hit at 12:57 West Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) was located at sea, 30 kilometers southwest of South Nias, at a depth of 19 kilometers, the BMKG stated on its twitter account @infoBMKG.

According to the BMKG, the tremor was felt as far as Teluk Dalam, Gunung Sitoli, Padang Siempuan, and North Nias.

The agency also confirmed that the quake was followed by a 5.5-magnitude aftershock, centered 40 kilometers southwest of South Nias.

No immediate report of casualties or material damage was received. (ant) 

Delegates from the Islamic State of Afghanistan will pay a visit to Ambon, Maluku Province, to gain insights into how religious tolerance is practiced in the city.

"In line with the schedule we received from the Afghan delegations, they will conduct comparative studies in the city of Ambon on June 19-21, 2019," Ambon Mayor Richard Louhenapessy noted on Sunday.

Ambon was granted a recommendation from the Foreign Affairs Ministry as a destination to delve into the practice of tolerance among religious believers.

The city has a Christian-majority population, and Islam is the second-largest religion.

"The arrival of delegates from Afghanistan is a matter of pride for the people of Ambon. It means that the city is receiving increasingly more acclaim from the international community and, most importantly, Ambon has a brand," he noted.

Louhenapessy affirmed that Ambon is listed among "the most tolerant cities" in Indonesia on the basis of the human rights advocacy group Setara Institute report in 2018.

The group conducts annual research to rank the most tolerant cities based on practices of tolerance followed in 94 cities in the country.

Some of the points under observation are freedom of religion or belief, gender equality, and social inclusion guaranteed and protected by law. In addition, the statements and actions of city government officials regarding tolerance are taken into account.

Louhenapessy added that Ambon City had also bagged the Harmony Award from the Ministry of Religious Affairs for being the most harmonious city.

Out of several cities in Indonesia, Ambon was then designated in the category of being the city with the most harmonious religious life through Minister of Religious Affairs' Decree Number 1 of 2019. (ant) 

​​​​​​The Indonesian government is ready to increase the export of cacao and its derivative products to European Union (EU) countries.

"One of the leading commodities that has seen an increasing demand is chocolate, or cocoa. (Thus) Indonesia is committed to increasing the volume of cacao exports and its quality, along with sustainable derivative products," Indonesian Agricultural Attache for Belgium Wahida said on Sunday.

Indonesia's trade balance for cacao products and derivatives always shows a positive trend from year to year.

The value of Indonesian cacao exports to the EU in 2018 reached US$215.2 million, an increase of 22 percent compared to 2017 with US$201.7 million.

This figure is only one percent of the total import value of the EU for cacao products and its derivatives, which has reached US$27.4 billion.

The largest cacao importing countries to the EU are Ivory Coast (US$4 billion), Ghana (US$1.5 billion) and Nigeria (US$672 million). Based on data reported by Eurostat, the EU is the largest cacao consumer in the world, at 8-9 kilogram annually per capita.

According to the Indonesian Embassy's Trade Attache in Brussels, Merry Astrid Indriasari, securing access to strategic commodity markets through tariff liberalization is key in the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) negotiations.

Such effort can also increase the exports of cacao and its derivative products to the EU market. Until now, Indonesia has proposed an initial offer for more than 10,000 tariff posts, including cocoa and its derivative products.

"We hope this can accelerate the negotiation process to catch up with other ASEAN countries that already have FTAs with the EU," Astrid said.

On the other hand, the demand for cacao beans in the country is also increasing. In addition to exporting cacao beans, currently the cocoa processing industry for re-exports is developing within Indonesia.

For the record, in 2018 Indonesia imported 240,000 tons of cacao beans, with an import value of US$ 528 million. The supply of available national cacao beans is still not able to meet the installed capacity of the cacao processing industry.

"Cacao processing plants process cacao beans into semi-finished goods to be exported to major consumer countries, such as Europe, the United States and Japan," Wahida said.

Cacao butter remains Indonesia's leading export product, with export volumes reaching 24,600 tons in 2018.(ant)