VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews Jakarta: The Istiqlal Mosque which is situated in Central Jakarta represents Islam in Indonesia. Under the leadership of Grand Imam Prof. Dr. KH. Nasaruddin Umar, M.A., the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, has received a number of international awards. In an interview with the Mutiara Ramadhan program which was broadcast on Thursday (04/04/2024) in the Voice of Indonesia- Radio Republik Indonesia channel, Nasaruddin Umar conveyed a number of achievements achieved by the mosque which can accommodate 200,000 worshipers.

Firstly, the Istiqlal Mosque became the first house of worship to obtain a Green Building Certificate. "The neatest, most beautiful, greenest house of worship is Istiqlal, which means it beats all other houses of worship. "And this is the first time a house of worship has received this EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, ed.) certificate," said Nasaruddin Umar to Voice of Indonesia.

Secondly, the Istiqlal Mosque is considered successful in gathering and promoting universal brotherhood by the United Nations. "I was recently invited to the United Nations, where I was given appreciation for the success of the Istiqlal Mosque in becoming a melting point not only across religions, but also across ethnicities, across nationalities, and also across sects." continued the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque.

Thirdly, the Istiqlal Mosque is often invited to represent Indonesian Muslims in world forums. "Alhamdulillah, we also have world trust, representation of Muslims in Indonesia. "Istiqlal is often involved, like yesterday at the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the American Department, then China, and in several countries, Istiqlal was asked to be involved as a representative of Indonesian Muslims," explained Nasaruddin Umar.

Fourthly, the Istiqlal Mosque received a World Bank award as the only mosque free of Covid-19, and received the title of cleanest house of worship in the world. "We have also received an international award for being the only public space that has zero resistance to the corona virus" said the Deputy Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia in 2011-2014.

Currently, the Istiqlal Mosque is building a hallway that connects the mosque which was inaugurated in 1978 with The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, well known as the Cathedral. Nasaruddin Umar expressed his joy over the construction of the tunnel, which he interpreted as a symbol of tolerance between people. "What we will build is not (just) a corridor that connects Istiqlal and the Cathedral, but what we will build is a symbol. the symbol of tolerance," said Nasaruddin Umar to Voice of Indonesia. (Daniel)

VOInews, Jakarta: The Java-1 Steam Gas Power Plant (PLTGU) with a capacity of 1760 MW will soon start operating after a series of plant reliability run and net dependent capacity tests which were carried out at the end of March 2024.

PLTGU Jawa-1 is operated by PT Jawa Satu Power, which is a joint company owned by energy companies Pertamina NRE, Marubeni and Sojitz. Pertamina, through a press release, claims that PLTGU Jawa-1 is the largest integrated power plant in Southeast Asia which is equipped with a regasification system.

John Anis, CEO of Pertamina NRE, appreciated the management and officers of JSP for their loyalty and hard work in realizing this mega project.

"I congratulate and express my highest appreciation to JSP management and officers who showed extraordinary patience, persistence, and determination in facing challenges until finally being able to realize this very crucial moment," said John, as quoted on the Pertamina website, Saturday (3/30/2024).

"Support from all parties continues to be expected so that PLTGU Jawa-1 can demonstrate operational excellence and can bring optimal benefits to Pertamina and the Republic of Indonesia," he added.

John said, with all the uniqueness of its installation, PLTGU Jawa-1 could become one of the pillars of the energy transition that would be the pride of Pertamina and Indonesia.

Later, in distributing electricity to the community, PT Jawa Satu Power (JSP) will partner with National Electric Company (PLN).

PLTGU Jawa-1 is a power plant that integrates a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with a power generating unit with a capacity of 1760 MW consisting of 2 generating units with a capacity of 880 MW each.

Previously, Unit 2 has been operating since December 2023. This project connects the availability of gas supplies in Papua with electricity needs on the islands of Java and Bali.

According to Pertamina, this project has a number of advantages, including being more efficient because it uses the latest generation of single shaft combined cycle gas turbine technology, so that electricity selling prices are competitive.

From an operational perspective, this plant has black start capability technology so that it can self-start up when imported power is not available on the grid for plant start-up purposes.

By using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel source, the resulting greenhouse gas emissions are said to be lower than coal or fuel-based power plants.

This is in line with efforts to reduce carbon emissions from the electricity sector. In addition, this plant uses closed loop cooling tower system technology which increases reliability in reducing the volume of sea water used to support plant operations.

Pertamina said the operation of PLTGU Jawa-1 would be an important milestone for the company as well as adding to its portfolio of clean energy utilization in its business.

According to Pertamina, natural gas plays a very strategic role in the energy transition period and will help support national energy security, and its low emissions place it in the clean energy category.

John said, with the latest technology, PLTGU Jawa-1 is projected to reduce carbon emissions by 3.3 million tco2e per year.

He said this figure was very significant for contributing to net zero emissions.

"This is one of the important milestones created by the strategic synergy of BUMN, namely Pertamina and PLN, and the private sector Marubeni and Sojitz and other parties who have a high commitment to jointly realizing the transition to clean energy in Indonesia. Thanks for the best support from all parties ," he explained.

VOInews, Jakarta: The Türkiye Defence Industry has developed rapidly in the last two decades. The country, which is located on two continents, has exported the main defence system equipment (alutsista) to 185 countries. The Indonesian Ambassador to Ankara, Achmad Rizal Purnama, in an interview in the Ranah Diplomasi program on Wednesday (03/04) conveyed the rapid progress of the Türkiye defense industry.

“Türkiye’s defence is currently extraordinary. In the last 20 years they have grown very rapidly. Currently the Türkiye defence industry has exported to 185 countries. The number of products in 2023 will be around 230 products with a value of around USD 5.5 billion and next year there will be contracts for USD 10 billion. That's the size of Turkiye's defence industry. "Finally, 7 Türkiye companies are included in the 100 largest companies in the world in the defence industry," said Ambassador Ahmad Rizal Purnama to Voice of Indonesia.

Türkiye’s defence industry is very labour intensive. Türkiye is building its defence industry by involving local Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

"Here I have met maybe more than 25 Türkiye defence industries. Türkiye has an MSME model. If I may make a classification, for example Tear 1 type of defence is the big companies TAIS, Havelsan, Aselsan, BMC, and Baykar, which make the best drones in the world. There are more Tears 2 and 3, actually MSMEs. What the Türkiye MSME industry builds is airplane steering, and they make Boeing wings. That's what we have to learn. "This happened because they succeeded in building their defense industry," continued Ambassador Ahmad Rizal Purnama.

Ambassador Ahmad Rizal Purnama also emphasized the importance of learning and replicating Türkiye’s success in building a defence industry in accordance with the interests and situation in Indonesia.

"Turkey really opens up extraordinary opportunities for technology transfer, how they build their defence industry. "After that, we replicate it according to our interests and situation and then work together to build our defence industry," concluded Ambassador Ahmad Rizal Purnama. (Daniel)

VOInews, Jakarta: The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in collaboration with the Austrian Study Association (WAPENA) successfully hosted "Ramadan Assembly, Greet and Meet with the Indonesian Ambassador to Vienna" on Saturday (23/3) at the Indonesian Embassy/PTRI Vienna building. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to Austria, Slovenia, the UN and International Organizations in Vienna, Damos Dumoli Agusman said that this activity invited the Indonesian Muslim community and Austrian partners to strengthen Islamic brotherhood between muslims in the two countries.

"Iftar or Breaking the Fast Together 1445 AH is a collaboration between the Indonesian Embassy/PTRI in Vienna and the Indonesian Muslim community in the Vienna and surrounding areas who are members of an official community organization in Austria called Warga Pengajian Austria or WAPENA, in German Der Indonesische Islamische Verein which is affiliated with IGGÖ as coordinator of Muslim community organizations throughout Austria," said Damos Dumoli in a statement received on Sunday (24/2) in Jakarta.

He also revealed that in 2022, WAPENA will have a mosque to introduce and propagate Islam in Austria.

"Alhamdulillah, Praise God that starting in 2022, WAPENA will have its own mosque which will become a home to proclaim Indonesian Islam which is Rahmatan 'lil Alamin, spreading Islam which is a blessing for the universe with special characteristics of tolerance, moderation and mutual respect between fellow religious believers, ” said Damos Dumoli.

Damos Dumoli also said that the iftar event brought together the Indonesian Muslim community with its partners in Austria and was a momentum in the holy month of Ramadan to strengthen people-to-people partnerships between the two countries to improve relations even better in the next 70 years.

Meanwhile, WAPENA Imam Andi Ahmad Junirsah encouraged Muslims to develop a greater sense of compassion and responsibility towards others, both for their communities and globally.

"Through acts of kindness, charity and good intentions, Muslims aim to have a positive impact, promote social justice, sharing and foster a sense of optimism, unity and solidarity during the holy month of Ramadan," said Andi.

IGGÖ Main Imam Ermin Sehic said that Islam had been designated by the Austrian Government as an official religion since 1912 and was the largest minority religion with around 800 thousand adherents spread across all corners of Austria in 2024.

"It is an honor that the Indonesian Islamic community is now part of IGGÖ and can play an active role and contribute to the good of Muslims in Austria," said Ermin. (Daniel)