VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Constitutional Court -MK has ruled that Law No.11/2020 on Job Creation or better known as the Job Creation Law is conditionally unconstitutional. The MK also officially ordered the House of Representatives -DPR and the Government to revise the law within 2 years.

What is the government's response to the Constitutional Court's verdict which is final and binding? President Joko Widodo in a press statement at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Monday (29/11) stated that as part of a democratic country based on law, the government will respect and immediately implement the Constitutional Court's verdict.

However, President Joko Widodo assured both domestic and foreign investors that investment will continue to run safely. In his view, he believes that nothing has been canceled by the MK regarding the Job Creation Act. President Joko Widodo also emphasized that with the Constitutional Court stating that the Job Creation Law is still in effect, all the material and substance in the Job Creation Law and the rules will remain in full force and effect without any article being canceled or declared invalid. President Joko Widodo also expressed the government's commitment and his commitment that the agenda of structural reform, deregulation and de-bureaucratization will continue to be implemented.

For investors, especially foreign ones, President Joko Widodo's commitment is important. For the business world, the most important thing is legal certainty in running their business in Indonesia. Now, the government and the DPR must immediately work hard to revise the Job Creation Law so that it is constitutional. Meanwhile, the government still has to maintain its commitment to investors. If not, the government will lose not only trust, but also probability to be sued internationally.

Hopefully, the government and the DPR can immediately revise the Job Creation Law without incurring loss for domestic and foreign investors. Ease of doing business is an absolute requirement for a country to be able to attract as much investment as possible. More investment means more jobs are available and the economy continues to grow. The ultimate goal of investment should be towards the welfare of the people.

Three Indonesian films were present at the 27th Minsk International Film Festival Listapad on 20-26 November 2021 in Minsk City, Republic of Belarus. The three films are made by two talented young female directors, Lola Amaria and Kamila Andini. The films that were present at the Indonesia Cinema Day entitled "Labuan Hati", "Lima" by Lola Amaria, “Yuni” by Kamila Andini. Both "Labuan Hati" and "Lima” were screened on November 22 & 24, 2021 as part of the 2021 Listapad Festival Non-Competitive Program, and "Yuni" was played on November 25, 2021 as part of the Film Competition for the fiction category. 

Indonesia Cinema Day was initiated by the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow that collaborated with the Belarus National Film Studio. This activity aims to introduce Indonesia closer to the people of Belarus through films. The successful implementation of the activity attracted the  interest of the Belarusians in Minsk City.

The Listapad Festival is the only international film festival in the Republic of Belarus. The festival aims to bring together directors, producers, actors, actresses and actors from the international film industry, especially those from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The festival was held for the first time in Minsk 1994. Along with the consistency and achievements achieved, in 2013, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) included the Listapad Festival in the list of the world's most prestigious film festivals and was in line with international film festivals in Berlin, Venice, Cannes, Montreal and Moscow.

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 “Berbelanja” which means “Shopping”. 

Here is the conversation entitled “Boleh Kurang?” which means “Can You Lower the Price?”. This conversation happens between Kevin and a clerk. Kevin wants to buy a batik shirt. 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 Boleh kurang? (2x) which means Can you lower the price? You can use it when bargaining. You can also mention the amount of money you can spend to buy a product. For example, Tiga ratus ribu rupiah saja, ya? (2x) which means How about three hundred thousand rupiah? Then you will get a response from the seller whether he can give a lower price or not.

Other Examples

Let’s read to the other examples of bargaining.

“Batik ini harganya lima ratus ribu rupiah?” (2x) which means “This batik costs five hundred thousand rupiah?”

“Ada. Ini, Pak. Silahkan pilih” (2x) which means “Yes. Please choose one, Sir”

“Boleh kurang?” (2x) which means “Can you lower the price?”

“Boleh. Mau berapa?” (2x) which means “Yes, we can. How much do you want?”

“Batik ini harganya lima ratus ribu rupiah” (2x) which means “This batik costs five hundred thousand rupiah”

“Tiga ratus ribu rupiah saja, ya?” (2x) which means “How about three hundred thousand rupiah?”

“Maaf sudah harga pas” (2x) which means “Sorry it’s a fixed price”

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 Indonesian government has issued a quick response in the face of the new variant of Covid-19, Omicron which is now spreading in various parts of the world.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said at an online press conference in Jakarta on Sunday (28/11) that the variant contains 50 mutations that affect the speed of transmission and its ability to evade antibodies. With so many mutations, World Health Organization -WHO has upgraded the status of the variant to a variant of concern.

Citing the ANTARA news agency, to date, 13 countries have announced the presence of the Omicron variant which was initially detected in South Africa and Botswana. Omicron is also  found  in Germany, Belgium, England, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong.

The Indonesian government immediately implemented the policy that took effect as soon as it was announced namely, firstly by prohibiting entry of foreigners who have a history of traveling for 14 days to countries, such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi, Angola, Zambia and Hong Kong. Second, Indonesian citizens who return to Indonesia and have a travel history from the countries in the first point will be quarantined for 14 days. Third, the government will increase the quarantine time for foreigners and Indonesian citizens traveling from abroad outside the eleven countries listed, to 7 days from the previous 3 days. Finally, this quarantine policy is enforced starting Monday morning (29/11).

The Government of Indonesia's quick response needs to be appreciated. Given the distribution of this Omicron variant, one cannot rule out the possibility that it has already spread to more countries.

Minister Luhut Panjaitan reminded that although Indonesia has handled the Covid-19 case to the maximum and the spread of cases has begun to be controlled, the public should not be careless. Control efforts must continue to be encouraged by continuing to implement and improve health protocols and accelerate vaccination.

Most importantly, people do not need to panic in response to this new variant, but remain vigilant. The government needs to increase cooperation with the international community in observing the development of the Omicron variant. Meanwhile, strict supervision of health protocols, such as washing hands, wearing masks, maintaining distance, staying away from crowds, and reducing mobility must continue.