VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Likupang in North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi, was chosen as the location for the W20 side event on February 14 to 16, 2022.  W20 or Women20 is part of the G20 event which focuses on gender equality. Indonesia becomes the G20 Presidency, or host of the G20 Summit, from December 1, 2021 to November 30, 2022. Chairperson of W20 Indonesia 2022, Hardiani Uli Silalahi explained that the W20 will hold a number of side events in some tourism destinations. Based on the government's recommendation, it needs to create tourism attractions other than Bali. Therefore, two priority destinations have been chosen, the first is Likupang and later it will be closed with a priority destination, namely Lake Toba. Likupang offers marine tourism due to its underwater panorama and beaches. This place is one of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) which has been designated as a super priority destination (DSP). Some of the tourism attractions that can be visited in Likupang are Sampirang Beach, Pulisan Beach, and Bahoi Ecotourism.

For today’s edition of Indonesian Wonder, we invite you to know more about one of the leading tourism destinations in Likupang, namely Pulisan Beach. This beach has clear water with white sand. Its location in Pulisan Village is in the hub of the North Minahasa Tourism Special Economic Zone. It is about 48 kilometres from Manado's Samratulangi Airport.  From Manado City, it takes about 2 hours by motor vehicles to Pulisan Beach. When you enter the beach area, you will feel amazed, looking at the clear sea water. Pulisan Beach has a beautiful coastline filled with soft and smooth white sand. You are able to enjoy walking on this stretch of white sand. This beach also has other nearby tourism spots, namely caves and hills. The natural scenery around the cave is so beautiful. There are also stunning brown cliffs, blending with the beautiful clear sea water. Besides having a beautiful panorama, this cave also has a hill which is famous for its beautiful savanna. To reach the hill, you have to trek for 30 minutes. Tiredness will subside when your eyes see the scenery. From the top of the hill, you will be presented with the beautiful expanse of the blue sea.

There are many other exciting tourism activities that can be done in Pulisan, such as snorkelling and diving. In addition to enjoying its beautiful and colourful coral rocks, the Pulisan marine park also keeps a variety of magnificent marine animals, such as jellyfish, starfish, and also clown fish, aka nemo. You can also visit a floating house in the middle of the sea. Please don't forget to hunt for the beauty of the sunrise and sunset. The location of Pulisan Beach is quite strategic, because it is located in the north of Sulawesi Island; it makes this beach as a beach which has a very clear position to witness the sunrise and sunset.

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has developed an autonomous or driverless and environmentally friendly electric vehicle. BRIN makes electric vehicles semi-autonomous by using a remote driving mechanism or tele-operation. This vehicle can be used in restricted areas or special areas. Take for example, it can be used in tourism attractions, industry, and office areas as feeders.

Acting Head of the Center for Electric Power and Mechatronics, Haznan Abhimanyu explained that this car is a one-passenger vehicle. This vehicle is often referred to as a micro electric vehicle. Micro Electric Vehicle – Tele-operated Driving System (MEVi - TDS) is a term for electric vehicles that are built and driven remotely. This car has dimensions of 1,475 mm long, 990 mm wide and 1,470 mm high, weighing about 80 kg. BRIN equips this car with a lithium battery with a maximum usage of about 46 minutes with a maximum speed of 10.88 km per hour. Furthermore, the battery capacity will be increased, but the maximum speed will not be increased because the vehicle is driverless. MEVi - TDS is also equipped with six ultrasonic sensors as proximity sensors, IMU sensors to determine vehicle orientation, GPS to determine exact position and four cameras that function as vision.

By design, MEVi - TDS looks simple. It is equipped with four LED lights at the front, oval-shaped brake lights at the rear, and six LED lights forming a triangle as turn signals. At the top of the hood, an amber rotator lamp is added which will light up as an alarm in the event of a tele-operation malfunction. MEVo-TDS is expected to be the forerunner to the development of autonomous vehicles for larger passenger capacities, such as micro buses and medium and large buses.

The Indonesian Embassy in Kiev conveyed that the situation in Ukraine is still relatively conducive and Indonesian citizens there are safe. Through a press statement, until the information received on Tuesday night (15/2), the Indonesian Embassy in Kiev stated that the local residents seemed to remain calm. There was no panic buying or rushing to take money at the local banks. According to the monitoring of the Indonesian Embassy in Kiev, some foreign representatives have appealed to their citizens who do not have interest to leave Ukraine and return home. However, this is still an advisory and there have not been foreign representatives who actively evacuated their citizens to leave Ukraine.

Based on data from the Indonesian Embassy in Kiev, currently there are 138 Indonesian citizens in Ukraine. The number has decreased from the previous number of 148 people.  It is because some Indonesian citizens who made temporary trips to Ukraine have returned to Indonesia. The Indonesian Embassy in Kiev also stated that the staff of the embassy   continuously communicate with Indonesian citizens in Ukraine. The embassy also appeals to Indonesian citizens to always keep alert and  monitor official information submitted by the local authority.

President Joko Widodo officially released the first car export to Australia in Karawang, West Java on Tuesday (15/2). In his remarks, the President said that the first car export from PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia to Australia proves that Indonesia has taken the opportunity to open a new export market.

On the occasion, he also appreciated the car export production achievement, namely up to 2 million units. R pointed out that the export also marks the innovation by the business industry amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This also shows that Indonesian manpower has good qualifications in producing cars. 

Then, the local content requirement (TKDN) from this export is more than 75 percent. President Joko Widodo added that many components, spare parts, and accessories in the exported cars have been supplied from small and medium industries in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that Indonesian automotive production finally could reach the Australian market, which was known for its tight specifications, such as the fuel, emission, and safety aspects.

The Minister added that right now, Indonesian vehicle products have been exported to four continents namely America, Africa, Asia, and the latest one -Australia.

Minister Agus Gumiwang further remarked that the automotive industry grew by two digits in 2021 with 17.82 percent. Currently, some 21 national automotive companies' production capacity have reached 2.5 million units per year. He also said that Indonesian automotive export last year was 294 thousand CBUs worth Rp52.9 trillion. There were also 91 thousand sets of CKDs worth Rp1.31 trillion. Meanwhile, the automotive components export from Indonesia was 85 million parts worth Rp29.13 trillion.