VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian writers, Sapardi Joko Damono, Goenawan Mohamad and young writer Norman Erikson Pasaribu will become three speakers at the George Town Literary Festival-GTLF which is scheduled to return on November 21-24 in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Malaysia's largest annual international literary event will reflect the last 100 years of world literature. Other well-known writers who are also scheduled to be the keynote speakers of the event are the prestigious literary award winner, Man Booker International Prize 2019, Jokha Alharti, winner of the 2019 EBRD Literature Prize, Hamid Ismailov, Japanese poet, Hiromi Ito, essayist and intellectual writer, Eliot Weinberger, writer Djiboutian-French, Abdourahman Waberi, and contemporary Chinese poet, Xi Chuan, and historian of modern China, Rebecca E. Karl.

Last year's GLTF featured up to 64 shows and was attended by more than 6,000 participants. This year, GTLF presents conversations, panel discussions, readings, performances, film screenings, and workshops and other activities. For the first time, the festival also holds weekly creative workshops for students every Saturday from October 5 to 26 in libraries throughout the city, with themes related to creative writing, screenplay writing for films and poetry.

The George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) is the world's largest literary festival held in Malaysia and the first literary event in Southeast Asia to receive the Literature Festival Award at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards. GTLF celebrates world literature, translation and literary arts, with various writers, artists and thinkers from various locations and disciplines gathering together each year to engage in intellectual discourse. This festival usually takes place every last weekend in November. Entry to the festival is free of charge for all members of the community.

The commemoration reception of the 74th Anniversary of the Indonesian Military ( TNI) in Beijing on Wednesday night (9/10) was attended by high-ranking Chinese officers and a number of military attaché officials from  friendly countries. Indonesian Ambassador to China, Djauhari Oratmangun delivered a speech about  the role of  TNI in the past and present.  In Southeast Asia,  TNI has increased cooperation, including within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, military exercises, joint maritime patrols, education and training programs. Ambassador Djauhari explained that the TNI has also cooperated with the Chinese People's Liberation Armed Forces in various sectors, such as education, training programs and joint military exercises.

Three Indonesian Muslim intellectual figures, Din Syamsuddin, Nasaruddin Umar, and Ismail Fajrie Alatas visited Amman, Jordan  to attend the 18th Conference of the Royal Institute  Aal-Bayt for Islamic Thought under the leader of Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad. Aal al-Bayt is an international institution of Islamic studies under the auspices of the Kingdom of Jordan, which consists of 120 prominent Muslim intellectuals from 36 countries. The agency holds an international conference every three years to discuss various issues which are faced by Muslims and to find out  solutions through the perspectives of Islamic teachings. Based on the official statement of the Indonesian Embassy in Amman, last Wednesday (9/10), the conference was opened by Prince Ghazi as adviser to the King of Jordan for religious and cultural affairs.

Millennial generation is expected to strengthen relations between Indonesia and South Korea through the Indonesia-South Korea Young Leaders Dialogue, which was held in Jakarta, 10th and 11th October 2019. The activity is one of the results of the bilateral meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and South Korean President, Moon Jae-in  in September 2018. The dialogue between the Indonesia-South Korea Young Leaders is held annually.  South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia, Kim Chang-beom, after opening the dialogue at the Pancasila Building, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jakarta on Thursday (10/10) explained that it was the first time for Korea to obtain suggestions from leaders of next generation.

It can be ensured that any protracted regional conflict or civil war always involves a superpower country. The civil war in Syria and the situation in Afghanistan are two significant examples. Russia, the United States of America and Iran, including Turkey, are involved in a war in Syria where the initial dispute was between the government and the opposition. In Afghanistan, the involvement of the United States and Russia has been taking place for long time. Another conflict that has lasted for more than five decades is the dispute over the Kashmir region. This conflict involves not only Pakistan and India, but also China. The three countries are disputing parts of Kashmir which are claimed as their territory.

The latest developments show China's support for Pakistan over its conflict with India. Beijing's support is interesting to observe, because it was stated precisely a few days before the meeting of Chinese President, Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The two leaders' meeting is scheduled to take place in Beijing these weekends.

Chinese support for Pakistan over the Kashmir issue was conveyed by President, Xi Jinping after meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan in Beijing on Wednesday (9/10). President Xi Jinping stated that India should not act unilaterally over Kashmir. Beijing emphasized the importance to resolve the conflict through dialogue.

For decades, the three countries: China, India and Pakistan have been in dispute because each country recognizes control of a part of Kashmir. Pakistan recognizes Azad Kashmir; India claims Jammu and Kashmir, while China claims that Aksai Chin is its territory. The three countries were not only once involved in armed clashes, even the war over Kashmir.

Therefore, even though talks have taken place several times, the Kashmir conflict is not over. The meeting between Chinese President, Xi Jinping Prime Minister Imran Khan, and Prime Minister Narendra Rodi cannot be expected to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta presents Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia, a lesson in Bahasa  Indonesia or the Indonesian language on the radio, which introduces   some  Indonesian vocabularies and  guides  you to use them in a conversation. The segment of Let's Speak Bahasa Indonesia is a cooperation of Voice of Indonesia, with the Language Development and Cultivation Agency, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is Labuan Bajo.  Stay tuned.

Next is a conversation about  Labuan Bajo. Tony and Endah are talking about famous tourism places in Indonesia.

After the conversation, now I’ll introduce some vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today.

In the dialogue Tony and Endah are talking about Labuan Bajo, a famous tourism object in Indonesia. Because Tony never saw and visited the place, Tony wants to know the reason why the beach is very famous. He asks Endah: Mengapa pantai itu terkenal ? Endah answers by using the word sebab. She said: sebab terumbu karang dan pemandangan nya sangat indah. The word sebab is the same meaning with karena.

For examples:

Tony                : Mengapa banyak orang pergi ke Pulau Bali ?

                        Why do many people go to Bali?

Endah             : Sebab pemandangannya indah.              

                        Because its view is beautiful

Tony   : Mengapa Raja Ampat sangat terkenal ?

                        Why is Raja Ampat very famous?

Endah             : Karena pemandangan bawah lautnya sangat indah

                        Because its undersea view is very beautiful