VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian embassy in Amman held a “Pencak Silat Promotional Event” at Plaza of the Indonesian embassy’s Guest House in Amman, Jordan on Thursday (18/7) in a bid to promote Indonesian martial art, Pencak Silat in Jordan. Indonesian ambassador to Jordan, Andy Rachmianto in a press release on Friday (19/7) said that the Indonesian embassy in Amman is to seriously encourage Pencak Silat to be able to be more well-known in the Prophet’s country through innovative way. In the event, the Indonesian embassy conducted a program of Silat trainers starting from June – July, 2019. 5 new Pencak Silat trainers have been directly inaugurated by Teacher Board of Silat School, led by Head of Islamic Educational Foundation of Al-Azhar, Sobidirin HS.  The 5 trainers train Pencak Silat to Jordanian residents under Silat Board flag. Ambassador Andy Rachmianto hopes that Pencak Silat can be learnt and it attracts Jordanian people so that Indonesian culture is more well-known.  The Indonesian embassy in Amman  and Al-Azhar also signed an agreement to promote Pencak Silat as Indonesian art and cultural heritage and also inaugurated special branch of Silat Board in Jordan.

Ruben Fernhout who is a well-known musician and DJ of the Netherlands promoted modern batik of his work through promotional event which was held at Jakarta Hotel in Amsterdam, on July 20, 2019.  The promotional event was entitled "Batik Modern Masa Cinta". The one-day event was able to attract young community’s attention which came from various regions in the Netherlands. In additional to being held  at Jakarta Hotel which has Indonesian atmosphere, the event was also attended by famous musician, Escobar who also enlivened situation by singing archipelagic songs. Indonesian Deputy Ambassador to the Netherlands, Fikry Cassidy who also attended the event, said that Batik promotion this time was special because it was presented by unique and modern way. It was a beautiful combination between Indonesian and the Dutch traditional wealth. Meanwhile, Ruben said that his interest in Batik comes from his heart. Because, his mother is an Indonesian woman. So, his love to Indonesia cannot be stopped.

Indonesia embassy in the United States of America keeps running textile trade in the USA. Thus, the Indonesia embassy in Washington DC and Indonesian Textile Association held a  Roundtable Meeting on Building Synergy of Textile and Cotton Sectors at the embassy on July 19, 2019. The meeting was attended by representatives of United States Trade (USTR) Office, Department of Agriculture, Department of State, Department of Commerce, and the US representatives of Garment Association, Fashion, and Cotton. Indonesian Ambassador to the United States of America, Mahendra Siregar welcomed the meeting as real step to enhance two-way trade relations of Indonesia and the United States of America. Indonesia’s textile export and product to the USA in 2018 reached US$4.5 billion dollars and to be projected to keep growing amid dynamic of global trade. The ambassador also said that therefore, it needs a clear road map to reflex the benefits of the two countries.

After reconciliation efforts between the camp of President Joko Widodo-Maaruf Amin  as the winner of the 2019 presidential elections and the camp of Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno as the loser, this could be said to be a success. Now, a new problem comes up among the political parties participating in the elections that have obtained huge votes, especially to determine who or which party has the right to serve the chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly -MPR.The Gerindra Party claims to be given the chairman of the MPR. According to Chairman of the Gerindra Party Central Board (DPP) -Sodik Mudjahid, this is not separated from the spirit of the reconciliation that was encouraged by President Joko Widodo and General Chairman of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto some time ago. Gerindra believes that the best composition of the 2019-2024 parliament is that its party will serve the chairman of the MPR. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) occupies the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives -DPR. Gerindra's wish certainly does not come up casually. Deputy Secretary General  of PDIP, Ahmad Basarah ever said that the possibility could occur in the deliberation process to elect the MPR chairman. PDIP has also opened up the possibility that the Indonesian coalition party -Adil Makmur, a coalition of Prabowo-Sandiaga’s supporters occupies the chairman of the MPR.However, the wish of the Gerindra Party was opposed by coalition parties supporting Joko Widodo-Maaruf Amin: the Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB). Golkar refused to give the chairman of the MPR  to Gerindra. Golkar's refusal is certainly not without reason. Chairman of the Golkar Party Central Board (DPP), Ace Hasan Syadzily confirmed that the position of the MPR chairman should have been given to the Golkar party which is the second winner of the seat of the House of Representatives -DPR. It should be kept in mind that the mechanism to elect the chairman of the MPR is carried out by deliberation to reach consensus. This means that a party is not as easy as claiming that its party has the right to occupy the chairman of the MPR. Truly, the reconciliation is important to maintain national unity, but it should not be misinterpreted as an effort of sharing power.

Turkey's decision to buy Russian-made S 400 missile makes the United States and NATO members upset. The United States said it would terminate   Turkey from a program to procure F 35 aircraft manufactured by the United States. From Ankara, it was reported that part of the S 400 missile system purchased by Turkey had started arriving in Ankara last week. Turkish President, Recep Erdogan said in Ankara that the S 400 air defense system will start functioning in 2020. The decision of Turkish President Recep Erdogan to buy the Russian S 400 air defense system has made NATO and the United States angry. Turkey is the only member of NATO that will fully utilize the Russian-made land-to-air defense system. Although Turkey's relations with NATO have begun to stiffen since last year's failed coup, President Erdogan's decision to use Russian defense technology could make relations worse. For NATO and the United States, the decision has hurt Turkey's commitment and position as a NATO ally for 65 years. The reason why Turkey finally diverted the procurement of its defense system to Russia was because the United States was slow to offer a missile defense system. While the military leaders of the United States considered that Russian S 400 air defense system is not appropriate or compatible with NATO defense systems. In addition, the United States military is concerned that the system will have an impact on the use of US F 35 aircraft. They worry that Russian technicians who will work in Turkey to accompany the use of the S 400 will steal the secret of the F 35 system. So far, Turkey has not responded to the threat of the United States which will terminate Turkey from the F 35 aircraft procurement program. The termination of Turkey from the F 35 program will certainly bring about an impact on Turkey. Because, in addition to ordering 100 units of F 35, Turkey also invests in the program, because the Turkish company has produced nearly 940 spare parts of F 35. President Erdogan's decision to buy the S400 from Russia certainly has been considered more carefully. The purchase of S 400 land-to-air missile equipment is not only about money and investment but also Turkey's determination to develop a more independent air-to-land defense. President Erdogan has taken an alternative to closer relations with Russia, as Turkish relations with NATO and the United States are strained.

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the radio, introducing 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 Development and Cultivation Agency at the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is ‘Cold Medicine’ or Obat flu.

Next is a conversation between Joko and a pharmacist about Cold Medicine or Obat flu. Joko is at a pharmacy to buy some medicines.

Joko                            : Ada obat flu ?                                     

Pharmacist                : Ada. Untuk anak-anak atau orang dewasa ?          

Joko                : Untuk orang dewasa

Pharmacist                : Perlu vitamin juga ?

Joko                            : Tidak. Makasih

After the conversation, now I’ll introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic today. I’ll say each word slowly and twice, you can follow after me.

In the conversation the Pharmacist asked Joko: untuk anak-anak atau orang dewasa ? which means ‘for children or adult?’ and Joko answered Untuk orang dewasa which means ‘for adult’. If you want to buy medicines for children, you can say untuk anak-anak. The word anak-anak has two meanings. Let’s follow the next examples :

-       Anak-anak saya sedang sakit.

-       Obat ini hanya untuk anak-anak, bukan untuk orang dewasa

The word anak-anak in the sentence

-       Anak-anak saya sedang sakit

-       anak-anak sedang bermain di taman means plural

while the word anak-anak at the sentence

-       Obat ini hanya untuk anak-anak,

-       Masa anak-anak adalah masa yang indah means kids or under-age.

In the dialogue Joko said makasih. The word makasih is non-standard form from the word terima kasih. In daily conversation the word makasih is often used than the word terima kasih.