VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Ngarot tradition is a traditional ceremony at Lelea village, Lelea district, West Java. It has a meaning being ‘grateful’ on planting season. The ceremony is usually held on Wednesday, the third week in November or December. It is conducted because Wednesday is considered holy and good day to plant rice. Ngarot comes from Sundanese language meaning drinking. While, in Sanskrit “Ngaruat” means free from the God’s curse or sin. The first Ngarot culture was conducted by Ki Buyut Kapol, a figure who was loyal and influential in Lelea village. He was willing to give his rice field as wide as 26,100 square-meters as realization of Ngarot event and welcomed by Lelea villagers. The ceremony is usually conducted by youths of the Lelea village. Ngarot ceremony consists of three parts, namely parade, giving and performance party. The participants, who take part in Ngarot, must wear typical clothes. The girls wear Kebaya with shawls and accessories such as necklace, bracelet, ring, bros, gold safety pin, and hair ornament. While, the young men wear Komboran clothes and Gombrang pants or loose pants and head-bands. The ceremony begins at 08.30 A.M. and all the participants of Ngarot gather at house of village’s head to be made over. Thus, the youths parade to go around the village. Afterwards, the participants enter village’s hall and they are welcomed by regional dances. Then, they start performing the main event by first opening, reading Ngarot history, welcoming speech of Village’s head and handing over process to the youths.

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesian,” lessons in the Indonesian language on the radio, introducing some Indonesian vocabulary and tips on how to use it in 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 Bertemu Teman Lama  or ‘Meeting Old Friend’.

Next  is a conversation about  Bertemu Teman Lama  or ‘Meeting Old Friend’. Tony is in Prambanan Temple area  accompanied by tour guide.  Coincidentally, Tony meet with Joko, his friend.

As usual, after the conversation 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 dialogue, Joke was very sure that a person he saw at Prambanan Temple area is Tony, his friend.

However, he wanted to make sure by asking, Kamu Tony, kan? which means ‘You are Tony, right?’.  The sentence is used in the context of conversation with friends.

Other examples: Kamu orang Inggris, kan?  Which means  ‘you are a British, right?’. On the same situation, but you talk to people you respect or do not really know, you can say: Maaf, pak Joko, ya? which means  ‘excuse me, you are pak Joko, right?’  or Anda Tony, bukan? which means ‘you are Tony, aren’t you?’ . If you are in the situation and  apparently what he/she meant  is not you, you can say: Maaf, saya bukan Tony which means ‘sorry, I am not Tony’.

Some other examples :

-      Maaf, Anda Tony, bukan?  which means  ‘Excuse me, you are Tony, right?

-      Oh maaf, saya bukan Tony  which means ‘sorry I am not Tony’

-      Kamu orang Inggris, kan?  which means  ‘You are a British, right?’

-      Bukan, saya bukan orang Inggris  which means ‘No,  I am not a British’

The Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) automotive exhibition was officially opened in Surabaya, East Java on Friday (29/3). The exhibition is organized by the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo). Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto, when opening the exhibition said that the export of completely built up (CBU) cars had reached 264 thousand units, and Completely Knock Down (CKD) around 82 thousand units, bringing the total to 346 thousand units.
The Ministry of Industry targets the national automotive exports to be able to penetrate 450 thousand units this year, along with the optimization of local components which increase every year. Minister Airlangga said that the automotive industry is now one of the mainstay sectors in supporting the national economic growth. Therefore, the government prioritizes the development of the automotive industry in order to be more competitive globally, especially amidst the digital era.He also emphasized that the government keeps creating a conducive business climate in a bid to push the addition of new investments and business expansion in the automotive industry sector. Minister Airlangga Hartarto also pointed out that national automotive products have been competitive in the international arena. This competitiveness is inseparable from the optimization of local components. According to Minister Airlangga, the level of domestic components is the key to success of the national automotive industry sector and this is expected to be a hub for the ASEAN market even at the Asian level.Minister Airlangga added that in the domestic market, Indonesia is superior to Thailand. He targets that production will be able to reach 1.5 million units by 2020. He appreciated the implementation of the 2019 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show which pays serious attention to the transfer of information on technology and innovation of motor vehicles, especially cars. He hopes that this series of exhibitions featuring the latest products and technologies for commercial vehicles can run smoothly, and provide a positive role for the automotive industry in Indonesia. Meanwhile, General Chairman of Gaikindo, Yohannes Nangoi wants the implementation of Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show in Surabaya to be one of the important elements to push the growth of the national automotive industry. He added that the exhibition which has taken from March 29 to April 7 will be visited by around 50 thousand people.

On December 31, 2018, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati signed the Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) No. 210/2018 concerning the Tax Treatment of Trade Transactions through Electronic Systems (e-Commerce). But on March 29, 2019, the government announced that the plan to implement the PMK is fully canceled on April 1, 2019.The reason for the cancellation, according to Minister Sri Mulyani, was the lack of socialization. As a result, many stakeholders misunderstood the regulation. So, enough additional time is needed for the socialization.Actually, the policy taken by the government through the Minister of Finance was aimed to create equal treatment between employers through electronic systems (e-Commerce) and conventional one. Although the aim is good, the government through the Minister of Finance does not insist on continuing to implement it as planned.Substantially, PMK No. 210/2018 is intended not to burden e-commerce entrepreneurs. Its contents focus more on regulating general rights and obligations, and emphasizing registration as a taxpayer for entrepreneurs. Because, many parties do not understand the substance, the polemic still arises. The government does not want the polemic to have a detrimental effect on e-commerce that has been so popular nowadays.Indonesia is the 10th largest country in e-commerce growth, even reaching 78%. The e-commerce sector contribution to the Indonesian economy has the potential to continue to increase, as the population increases using the internet and increasing penetration of e-commerce. According to the McKinsey study, in 2022 online trading will create 26 million jobs both directly and indirectly.