VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia’s neighboring country, Malaysia is now in a political crisis. The agreement between Mahathir Muhammad and Anwar Ibrahim ended in a political drama, when Mahathir Muhammad, a 94-year-old senior politician resigned from the position of Prime Minister of Malaysia. Political shocks in Malaysia occurred when Mahathir Muhammad suddenly sent a letter of resignation to the Malaysian King Yang Pertuan Agung Sultan Abdullah on Monday (24/2). Whereas last week, Mahathir said he would continue to become Prime Minister of Malaysia until the holding of the Asia Pacific APEC Summit in Kuala Lumpur in November 2020.

Other political shock after Mahathir Muhammad's resignation was the step taken by Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah. The Malaysian head of state appointed Mahathir Mohammad as an interim Prime Minister. To avoid a government vacuum Mahathir Muhammad was signed to run the government until the election of the new Malaysian Prime Minister and the new cabinet is formed.

Along with Mahathir's appointment as PM ad interim PM, Sultan Abdullah dismissed all cabinet members including Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is the wife of the President of the People's Justice Party (PKR), Anwar Ibrahim. Before accepting Mahathir Muhammad's resignation, Yang Perttuan Agung Sultan Abdullah had met Anwar Ibrahim and Wan Azizah.

Indications of a political crisis in the neighboring country came as news emerged that Mahathir would form a new coalition which would be supported by the opposition United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). The new coalition will undermine the ruling coalition, Pakatan Harapan, which plans to make Anwar Ibrahim the successor to Mahathir Muhammad in May 2020. Anwar Ibrahim who was disappointed, has criticized the political conspiracy that undermined the commitment to make him Prime Minister of Malaysia replacing Mahathir Muhammad. The new coalition is said to be planned to be formed by Mahathir before his resignation as Prime Minister, allowing Economy Minister Azmin Ali to have the chance to replace Anwar Ibrahim. Some even suggested that Azmin Ali, whose was Anwar Ibrahim trusted friend, was the one who suggested a new coalition which Mahathir Muhammad had originally formed and allowed him to become Prime Minister.

Adagium that there are no eternal friends or enemy in politics, there are only interests, can be used as a reference in looking at the political crisis in Malaysia that is still unclear how it will end.

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the radio. We introduce some Indonesian vocabulary and tips on how to use it in a conversation. This segment is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language and Book Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. Today’s topic is Mencari Tempat Kos or ‘Looking for boarding house’. Read to this conversation about Mencari Tempat Kos or ‘Looking for boarding house’. Kevin asks Pak Imran about boarding house located near the campus. Kevin Pak, tempat kos yang dekat kampus ada di mana, ya? Imran Ada di jalan Pemuda. Kevin mau mencari tempat kos dekat kampus? Kevin Iya, Pak. Imran Mari , saya antar ke sana. Kevin Baik, Pak. Terima kasih. Now, I am going to introduce the vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today. Tempat kos (2X) which means Boarding house Mencari tempat kos Looking for boarding house Antar To take Tempat kos yang dekat kampus ada di mana, ya? Where is the boarding house which is close to the campus? Mari , saya antar ke sana Come on, I will take you there. Terima kasih Thank you In the conversation, Pak Imran asks for Kevin by saying: Mari, saya antar ke sana which means ‘Come on, I will take you there’. The word mari is used to ask for someone in a formal context, such as to someone who had just met, boss,or teacher, etc. The expression Mari , saya antar ke sana means that Pak Imran asks for Kevin to Jln. Pemuda (for example), to look for a boarding house near the campus. Now let’s read to other examples: -Mari makan (2X) which means let us eat -Mari belajar (2X) let us study Besides the word mari, we also can use the word ayo to ask for someone to go somewhere. Usually, the word ayo is used in an informal context between friends and younger people. For examples: -Ayo makan which means let’s eat -Ayo belajar let’s study That was “Let’s Speak Bhs Indonesia”, a lesson in Bahasa Indonesia or the Indonesian language on the radio. Hopefully, this edition will be useful for those who want to know more about Bahasa Indonesia.

The United States, through its Office of the US Trade Representative at the World Trade Organization (WTO), removed China and Indonesia from the list of developing countries. Besides both countries, there are three other countries that have also been removed from the list, namely Brazil, India and South Africa. The five countries are declared as developed countries in international trade. The decision of the US Trade Representative Office requesting the World Trade Organization (WTO) to exclude Indonesia from developing country status officially came out on February 10, 2020. So, what are the pluses and minuses for Indonesia by the changing of status from a developing to a developed country? For some people, it might be considered an achievement. This means that Indonesia can be equalized with the United States or other European countries. Is that true? In terms of trade, Indonesia's rising status as a developed country has several consequences. Take for example; there is removal of the Generalize System of Preference (GSP) facilities or relief of import duties on imported goods to the United States. The GSP facilities are only given to least developed countries and developing countries. In addition, in several trade agreements, developing countries also often get technical assistance from developed countries. With the change in the status of Indonesia from a developing country to a developed country, Indonesia's privileges will naturally be lost. The United States might increase import duties on Indonesian goods to the United States. On one hand, bearing the status as a developing country is indeed profitable in terms of trade, because imported goods from developing countries to developed ones get lower import duties. This rule is intended to help these countries move out of poverty. On the other hand, Indonesia must respond wisely to this status change decision. Upgrading the status of Indonesia to a developed country might erase various facilities, especially related to trade, which has been obtained by Indonesia as a developing country. However, Indonesia must view this decision in a positive way. The ease that Indonesia has received so far, in the form of relief of import duty on goods, may have tempered Indonesia's export performance abroad. Indonesia seems to be spoiled with various facilities provided by developed countries. Changing the status of Indonesia to a developed country and the loss of various facilities as a developing country are expected to whip up Indonesia’s export in a bid to improve competitiveness and improve the quality of Indonesian products abroad. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto said the government was not worried about the impact of the change in status. His side certainly has ways and strategies to deal with the consequences faced by Indonesia after this status change.

Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia conducted "KBRI Goes to School” program to introduce the wealth of Indonesian culture and language at Auditorium of Sisowath High School on Saturday (22/2). First Secretary of Social and Culture Information Function of the Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh, Made Santi Ratnasari gave a presentation on Indonesia, including information of Indonesian scholarship. The event was continued by learning Indonesian language which was packaged with fun games and attractive entertainment prizes. After learning the Indonesian language, art team of Indonesian Cultural Center in Cambodia also performed at the event. A lively welcome of students welcomed the art team which played Angklung to accompany Indonesian and Cambodian songs, namely Gundul Gundul Pacul and Cambodian popular songs, Om Teuk. The event was closed with Angklung Workshop which was participated enthusiastically. Indonesia always participates in National Multicultural Festival which is the biggest international festival in Canberra, Australia. The festival which was conducted on Saturday (22/2) amazed more than 300 thousand visitors who are Australian residents and foreign residents who live in Canberra. This year, Indonesia presented Barong dance of Bali amidst the performance of 10 Southeast Asian countries on ASEAN Village stage. On the main stage, Indonesia presented two Balinese contemporary ethnic dances and this was followed by Barong dance which was greeted by standing ovation of thousands of audiences. In addition, there was Indonesia stand which displayed an expo covering three Indonesian main products, namely tourism destination products with the theme 10 New Bali, arts and handicrafts exhibition, and Indonesian trademarks which have entered Australian markets, both from small and medium enterprises. Indonesian embassy in Copenhagen cooperated with Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry to participate in tourism exhibition of Danish Travel Show which was held in Herning, Denmark on February 21-23, 2020. Various kinds of Indonesian tourism packages were offered, and also various culinary and traditional dances were promoted. Tourism trip packages of Kalimantan and Papua were in demand at Danish Travel Show 2020. Lars Faursholt, travel specialist of Denmark who joined in Indonesia’s pavilion, offered an exclusive package by inviting visitors to conduct tour to Papua to know more cultures of Dani tribe and enjoyed Baliem Wamena Valley Festival. Meanwhile in Kalimantan, the visitors were invited to know Dayak tribe and to see closer orangutan at its natural habitat. The trip packages were sold out on the first day to visit in August 2020.