VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is thinking about a reshuffle of his cabinet, after being successfully elected as Head of the British government. He successfully serves as prime minister after the Conservative Party he led won elections after the Brexit chaos. Johnson will adjust the cabinet by increasing the number of women ministers. The addition of women's quota in the cabinet of Boris Johson is carried out on account of the demands of various parties for the Prime Minister to increase the number of women ministers in the cabinet.

News in various media in the UK reported speculation that there would be removal of at least 3 female ministers from Boris Johnson's cabinet. The three names that are expected by the media to be removed are Theresa Villiers, Andrea Leadsom and Liz Truss. Over the speculation, pressure arises so that Boris Johnson continues to place women in his cabinet. In response, the government ensures that the figures of women in the cabinet would be maintained. Domestic media has estimated that five women will enter Johnson's new cabinet. The number is more than before. Internal government revealed that if the current female minister is only 18 percent, in the next reshuffle, the number will reach 60 percent of the cabinet composition.

A cabinet reshuffle is carried out by Boris Johnson to smooth the path of his administration, primarily in anticipation of Britain's departure from the European Union. Several ministers in the current cabinet will be substituted.

Before the election, Boris Johson often faced problems with parliament and several ministers in his cabinet. In that perspective, an overhaul is carried out. In addition to streamlining his government, increasing the number of women in the new cabinet can also improve Boris Johnson's image in the eyes of the British people. Thereby, Boris Johnson certainly needs to be careful in choosing the female figures he will choose. The consideration is certainly good not only in the eyes of the community, but also the smooth running of the government.

The Megalithic era is a period of civilization inworld history. In the Eastern part of Indonesia, there is a hamlet which still looks like its original image.It is called ‘Bena hamlet’ in East Nusa Tenggara. It still has amegalithic landscapeand it is maintained well. The word of Bena comes from the first original tribe which lived in the region. But, there are many stories on the origin of the ancient hamlet which is predicted to have existed since 1,200 years ago. It is locatedon theslope of Mt. Inerie as high as 2,245 meter above sea level, or precisely at Tiwuriwu village, Aimere district in East Nusa Tenggara. The hamlet is longwise from the North to the South andknown for itstraditional house,Bena villagersand also their ancestors’ tradition. Thesmall hamlet, which is occupied by the original tribe of the region, was determined a world heritage site by UNESCO. Terracedsoil structures are alsoa beautiful part of the hamlet. At the end of the hamlet, at the peak of the stairs, there is a gazebo which can be used for praying. The existence at the slope of the mountain is characteristic of old community of mountainous devotees as the God’s place. According to residents of the hamlet, they believe in the existence of Yeta, the Godwhich liveson the mountain and protects their hamlet.

Bena hamlet consists of 40 houses which surround each other. The hamlet is longwise from the North to the South. The hamlet gatewayis located at the North. While, at the South, there is a peak and a steepcliff edge. Generally, thelivelihood of the menis farming. In addition to producing corns, tubers and beans, they also plant coffee, and candlenut on Mt. Inerie. Meanwhile,women work diligently by weaving, inwhich their products are sold to tourists or sent to Bajawa City. The distance of Bena hamlet is around 19 kilometers from  Bajawa which is the capital city of  Ngada. To get there, you can use land transportation. Even though theroad is good, you must be a skillful driver, since the road is curvy and hilly. 

Bena hamlet is the tourism destination of  Ngada hamlet. In fact, the hamlet is often visited by foreign tourists from Germany and Italy. At the middle of the hamlet, there are some buildings which are called ‘Bhaga’ and ‘Ngadhu’ by local people. The shape of the Bhaga is similar with little huts without dwellers. While, Ngadhu is a building with one pole and palm fiber roof so that its shape is like shelter. Ngadhu’s pole is usually made from special kind of hard wood because the pole also functions as animal sacrificial gallows when traditional parties are held. The hamlet is not touched yet by technology. Bena’s building functions not only as residence but also having a deep meaning with local wisdom and at present, it is still relevant to be applied for the people in maintaining the environment. Peace and comfort will be felt when you are in the hamlet.  

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 Keluhan di Hotel  or ‘Complaints for the hotel’.

Read to this conversation aboutKeluhan di Hotel which means ‘Complaints for the hotel’. Kevin asks the hotel room service officer about his complaints.

Kevin : Coba masuk ke kamar mandi, Mas!

Officer            : Baik, Pak. Permisi.

Kevin              : Lihat! Saluran airnya mampet.

Officer          : Oh, rusak, ya. Saya panggil tukang leding sekarang.

Now I am going to introduce the vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today.

kamar mandi             which means            bathroom

keran air                                                                     water tap       

rusak                                                                          broken

permisi                                                                       excuse me

tukang leding                                                            plumber

Coba masuk ke kamar mandi, Mas.         check the bathroom

Lihat!Saluran airnya mampet.                    look! the drain is clogged

Saya panggil tukang leding sekarang.     I call the plumber right now

When you are at a hotel, you might have some problems. The words which you may use when asking the complaints such as rusak (broken), tidak menyala (off), and belum dirapikan (not tiedied up yet).

For example:

AC-nya tidak menyala      which means            the air conditioner doesn’t

work

Remote televisinya rusak                                                the TV remote is broken

Kamar saya belum dirapikan                                             my room hasn't been made

up yet

Saya tidak dapat menggunakan internet         I can not use the internet.

In the conversation, the hotel officer says that he will call tukang leding, or the plumber in English. In this context, the plumber is a person who can repair water pipes.

Besides, the word tukang is also used for someone who sell something such as tukang bakso (bakso seller) and tukang nasi goreng (fried rice seller)

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.  

Philippine relations with the United States are entering a new phase. Indonesia's neighboring country has terminated its membership of the Visiting Forces Agreement-VFA, which is a military cooperation between the two countries. Duterte's decision that the Philippines left the VFA had been conveyed to the United States government. Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin has confirmed that it has been conveyed and received by the deputy head of the diplomatic mission at the US Embassy in Manila.

The reason for the termination of Manila from VFA membership is because Washington refused a visa for Ronald Dela Rosa, who is a political ally of Duterte.

The VFA military cooperation agreement was  in effect satrting 1998. Through this collective agreement the Philippines has received thousands of US military forces in the country  for military training and humanitarian operations. Therefore, the United States responded quite cautiously to President Duterte's steps.

As quoted by the Associated Press news agency, the United States Embassy in Manila stated the need to consider this issue very carefully. According to  the US,  Duterte's decision could have significant implications in  relations between the two countries, which has been going well so far. On the other hand, Washington also has not explained what is the reason for refusing the visa application of a person close to President Duterte. Ronald de La Rosa is a former national police chief who is now a senator. During his time as chief of police, the Philippines fought a war with drug dealers. Because of this, a number of Philippine officials suspected that his visa rejection was related to the drug war that had been criticized by the United States. Washington itself, until the termination of membership from VFA military cooperation by Duterte, still has not explained the reason.

However Washington certainly is seriously considering terminating military cooperation by President Duterte. Because the United States views its military presence in the Philippines as a counterweight to China's military strength in the South China Sea region.

The United States still has 180 days before answering President Duterte's decision. Interestingly, the Philippine President has shown who he is against the United States which is actually a super power. The Philippines and America are even known to have a history of close relations so far. However, if deemed necessary it seems the Philippines did not hesitate to show its firm attitude to the United States.