VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Voice of Indonesia presents Let’s Speak Indonesian, a program that introduces the Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the language. “Mari Berbahasa Indonesia” or “Let’s Speak Indonesian”is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology.  Today’s topic is about “Cuaca dan Musim” (2x) which means “Weather and Season”. 

Here is the conversation entitled “Suhu 25 Derajat Celcius” (2x) which means “Temperature of 25 Degrees Celsius”. This conversation happens between Kevin and Nuni. Nuni and Kevin are walking on the road in the city of Bandung, West Java. They are walking while talking about weather and season. Let’s read to the conversation.

After reading to the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of the day.

In the conversation, you hear the expression “Berapa ya suhu (udara) nya?” (2x) which means “How much is the temperature?” The expression is to ask temperature. The answer you may hear is the amount of temperature, such as Dua puluh lima derajat celcius (2x) which means Twenty-five degrees Celsius.

Other Examples

Let’s read to the other examples to ask temperature.

“Dingin sekali. Berapa suhu udara saat ini?” (2x) which means “It’s so cold. How much is the temperature now?”

“Dua puluh dua derajat Celsius” (2x) which means Twenty-two degrees Celsius.

In Indonesia, especially the city of Jakarta, dry season is usually short and hot, while rainy season is usually short, warm and rainy. Throughout the year, the temperature varies from 23 to 33 degrees Celsius. It is so rare to reach below 22 degrees Celsius or above 34 Celsius.

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian” for today. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those of you who want to know more about Indonesian language. 

The Ministry of Transportation has officially handed over the management of the Patimban Port to PT Pelabuhan Patimban International (PPI) after previously being temporarily operated by the government through an assignment to PT Pelindo. The transfer of the management of the Patimban Port vehicle terminal was carried out directly by Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi at the Patimban Port in Subang, West Java Friday (17/12). In the operation of this Port, PT Pelabuhan Patimban International cooperates with a Japanese consortium, Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

During the handover ceremony for the management of the Patimban Port, Minister Budi Karya said that the management of this port is carried out with a government and business entity cooperation scheme. According to Minister Budi Karya, the handing over of port management to the private sector aims to improve the competitiveness of national logistics. He also explained that the construction of the Patimban Port was carried out to increase the national logistics index and collaborate with the Tanjung Priok Port to become a new 'hub' that has high competitiveness in the Southeast Asia region. Minister Budi Karya hopes that the presence of the Patimban Port can make Indonesia one of the export bases for vehicles which can improve the national automotive industry. He also invited all automotive industry players, both motor vehicle manufacturers/component and spare parts manufacturers to the raw material industry to take advantage of the Patimban Port.

After it was officially handed over, Patimban Port which began to be built in 2018 immediately served the initial export of 1,209 vehicles to the Philippines. This port is one of the National Strategic Projects, which is expected to become the forerunner of a new industrial and urban area in West Java called Rebana which stands for Cirebon/ Subang/ Patimban/ and Kertajati Metropolitan/ covering six regencies and the Cirebon City.

Minister Budi Karya Sumadi also remarked  that in addition to serving export-import activities of vehicles, Patimban Port is also expected to be able to move the economy of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, agricultural sector, creative industry and other sectors so that local products can compete in the global market.

The embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra played an Indonesian movie on Friday (17/12) to strengthen diplomacy and promote Indonesian language and culture. The movie was entitled "Terbang: Menembus Langit". It was produced in 2018 and directed by Fajar Nugros and played by Laura Basuki, Dion Wiyoko and Baim Wong. In a written statement, Educational and Cultural Attaché Mukhamad Najib said that the screening of the movie was aimed at introducing the diverse life of Indonesia to the Australian community and the world. The film tells the story of the spirit of young people achieving the dream. According to Najib, it is also very appropriate for young Australians to watch.

The Indonesian embassy in Canberra invited students and teachers in Canberra to watch the film together before entering holidays. One-hour and 40-minute movie screening was attended by students and teachers, Australians, diplomats of neighboring countries and Indonesian diasporas who stay in Canberra.

Coordinator of Social and Cultural Information Function of the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Ghofar Ismail said that the screening can become a means to closely improve relationship between Indonesia and Australia. According to Ghofar, the movie is a cultural product which reflects society’s life of a country. Through the Indonesian movie, Australians are hoped to be able to learn about the variety of life in Indonesia. Therefore, people of both countries can get closer because Indonesian and Australians can understand culture mutually. In addition to watching the movie together, the invitees were also served Indonesian food and soft drinks.

Indonesian higher education institutions are asked to continue to transform and strengthen collaboration with various stakeholders, including the business world and industry, government, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, the public, and the media. These efforts are important so that universities can respond to the challenges of changing times.

Vice President, Ma'ruf Amin while attending the 5th International Seminar and Conference on Global Issues 2021, online, last Saturday (18/12) said that transformation and collaboration are needed to make Indonesia's higher education a world class.

Based on the assessment of the QS World Universities Ranking 2022, there are seven universities in Indonesia that are included in the list of the best 1,000 universities in the world, including Gajah Mada University which is in 254th position and University of Indonesia in 290th position.

In the ranking, the methodology used is to evaluate each institution based on six indicators, including research collaboration with international parties, academic reputation, and graduate reputation.

According to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, collaboration and transformation can be applied in several frameworks. First, it’s rejuvenating the governance and management of the education system, including research and development, by prioritizing good university governance. In addition, higher education as a motor of innovation can initiate collaboration in the form of joint research. This is important so that financing is more efficient, and the development of science and technology is in line with the needs of industry and society.

Second, it’s reviewing the research methodology so that it is adaptive to advances in information technology. He gave an example that many research institutions have utilized artificial intelligence and big data in mass surveys.

The third effort is by increasing international cooperation between universities at the individual level, such as exchange programs between lecturers and between students. VP Ma'ruf Amin hopes that this program can improve the quality of lecturer research, the quality of alumni, teaching and learning models and community service programs.

Then, he asked for higher education as a cultural center and a driver of social change towards a society that is democratic, forward-looking, as well as having faith and noble character.

If these points of collaboration and transformation can be implemented, the hope to make universities in Indonesia a world class and answer the challenges of the times can be achieved.