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 and Culture.  Today’s topic is about Kerja dari Rumah which means Work from Home.

Here is the conversation entitled Sudah Membaca Surat, Belum? which means Has He Read the Letter Yet? Kevin and Ayu are working from home. They are having an online meeting. Kevin wants to know if the director has read letter of agreement that is discussed in the meeting or not. 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 dialog, you hear a question Pak Direktur sudah membaca suratnya, belum? which means Has the director read the letter yet? In the question, there is the word belum which is placed in the end with high note. It is usually used to know if someone has done something. In the dialog context between Ayu and Kevin, Kevin wants to know if the director has read the letter of agreement that they are discussing in the meeting or not.

Let’s read to the other examples to know if someone has done something or not.

Ayu  :Pak Kevin sudah makan siang, belum?which means Mr. Kevin, have you had lunch yet?

Kevin         : Sudah, Bu which means Yes, I have, ma’am

Kevin         : Apakah Ibu sudah makan siang? which means Have you had lunch yet, ma’am?

Ayu  : Belum which means Not yet

In writing, a position is not preceded by honorifics. Honorific is better to be followed by name. However, in daily speech, the speaker sometimes does not mention the name of a person who is a state official or has a higher rank than him. He just mentions the position preceded by honorific. For example, Pak Direktur and Ibu Menteri which means Mr. Director and Ms. Minister.

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 Embassy in Caracas held a Diplomatic Reception to celebrate the 76th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia at Wisma Duta Caracas on Friday (3/Sept). The theme of the event is ‘Strengthening Bilateral Cooperation Commitments, Including Improving Economic Relations with Accredited Countries. The diplomatic reception was held by applying health protocols and it was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela and the ranks of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as ambassadors from friendly countries.

Indonesian Ambassador in Caracas, Imam Edy Mulyono said that the increasing relations between Indonesia and friendly countries is a manifestation of the vision that has been proclaimed by the Founding Fathers of  Indonesia through the Preamble to the Indonesian Constitution. Ambassador Iman further explained that Indonesia hopes to continuously increase cooperation with Venezuela and other accredited countries of the Indonesian Embassy in Caracas, by exploring various potentials for cooperation in a bid to improve people's welfare.

As Guest of Honor, Venezuelan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Capaya Rodriguez hopes to strengthen relations with Indonesia. One of them is the visit plan  of the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro Moros to Indonesia. He is willing to visit Indonesia. He said that Indonesia is an amazing country. He wishes the situation in the future will be more conducive, so that this willingness can be materialized. The reception activity was marked by the promotion of Indonesian culture, such as the decoration of many Indonesian cultural objects, the performance of the Tor-Tor Dance from the Indovez dance group, as well as the screening of promotional videos for the beauty of nature and potential of Indonesia's economy.

Bank Indonesia (BI) and People's Bank of China (PBC) on Monday (6/9) officially began the implementation of Local Currency Settlement (LCS) between Indonesia and China.

In its official statement, Bank Indonesia explained that the cooperation framework includes direct quotation and certain regulation relaxation in foreign exchange between Rupiah and Yuan. This cooperation framework was made based on the MoU agreed and signed by Governor of BI, Perry Warjiyo and Governor of PBC, Yi Gang on September 30, 2020.

Besides China, Bank Indonesia also already has LCS frameworks with other partner countries namely Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. The cooperation implementation was a part of Bank Indonesia's continuous effort to encourage wider local currency use in trade transactions and direct investment with partner countries.

Therefore, LCS use expansion is expected to support rupiah stability through its impact towards less dependence on particular currency in the domestic foreign exchange market.

Bank Indonesia recorded, the use of LCS gives many direct benefits for business people. The benefits include a more efficient forex transaction conversion cost; alternative funding for trade and direct investment in local currency; alternative hedging instrument in local currency; and diversification of currency exposure in foreign transactions.

To support the use of Rupiah and Yuan, Bank Indonesia and People's Bank of China have appointed some banks in each country as Appointed Cross Currency Dealers (ACCD). These banks are seen to have the ability in facilitating Rupiah and Yuan transactions according to the agreed LCS cooperation framework. These abilities include a good security and health level, experience in facilitating trade/investment transactions, being able to provide various financial services, and good relations with banks in partner countries.

There are 11 banks in Indonesia and 8 banks in China as the Appointed Cross Currency Dealer (ACCD).

The impression that countries on the African continent are always plagued by conflict, civil war, food shortages, and coups, has not disappeared.

The chaos in Ethiopia, due to rebel resistance on the northern border that caused refugees and the danger of famine, is now followed by a coup in one of the countries on the west coast of the continent, namely Guinea. Guinean military elements, arrested President-elect Alpha Conde and coup d'etat his government on Sunday, September 5, 2021. The coup was led by a Colonel, commander of the country's elite troops, Mamady Doumbouya. Following information through the mass media regarding the detention of Alpha Conde, Colonel Mamady confirmed the takeover of power at a press conference in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

He promised the mass media that he would soon form a government to undergo a transition period before the formation of a new government. The coup leader barred all government officials from leaving the country.

As reported by a number of international mass media, many people  in Conakry welcomed the military's actions. They took to the streets hailing the military troops patrolling the capital. The coup leader stated that the act was carried out to save the country, including from abuse of authority and corruption. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, stated that he  had frozen the state law.

Interestingly, President Alpha Conde is the first Guinean President to rise to power thanks to popular elections in 2010, and has served two terms in office. Conde has only serving  one year in his third term through the 2020 election. However, his last term was obtained after the Law on the Office of the President was changed on his initiative, from two terms to three consecutive terms. The amendments to the law have come under fire from the opposition, who criticized it for being carried out at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

The coup in West African Guinea is nothing new. The first occurred on September 23, 2008 by the military led by a major. What is different from the 2021 coup, the 2008 coup, happened just  after the then President Lansana Conte, died. At that time, the United States only voiced its hope for a peaceful transition period. But regarding  the 2021 coup, the United States condemned the military action. The United Nations, African Union and regional agency Ecowas have also joined in condemning this coup and calling for the return of civilian rule. After all, Alpha Conde was Guinea's first democratically elected president by election in 2010 and in the following two terms.

Will Guinea get better, with the military's promise to end abuse of power and corruption? And will the people who welcome the coup d'etat also have a better life in the future? Only time will tell.