VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Sungai Batang Tourist Village has entered the top 50 of the Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI) 2021. The competition was initiated by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. The selection of tourist villages is based on the assessment of the board of curators on seven categories of assessment, classification of tourist villages and completeness of data through Jadesta.com site. Currently, the Award Jury Council along with the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno are visiting the 50 tourist villages including Sungai Batang Tourist Village.

Sungai Batang Tourist Village is located near Lake Maninjau, precisely in Tanjung Raya District, Agam Regency, West Sumatra Province. Sungai Batang Tourism Village has natural, cultural, historical and religious tourism. Not only that, Sungai Batang Tourist Village is the birthplace of the Indonesian National Hero, Buya Hamka.

Sungai Batang Village has natural potential with a beautiful panorama of Lake Maninjau. This village also has rice fields. Located near the rice fields with calm water, you can see the cranes flying. Besides, you can enjoy a variety of typical dishes too. Sungai Batang village is abundant with small yellowish-white fish commodities, which are commonly called Rinuak. This fish is an endemic animal of Lake Maninjau, this fish can be processed into various kinds of food and become one of the typical souvenirs of Sungai Batang village. For those of you who want to stay overnight, there is a homestay with a typical Minang design.

As the birthplace of a religious figure, Buya Hamka, Sungai Batang Tourist Village is rich in historical and religious tourism. The tomb site of Sheikh Muhammad Amrullah, the great scholar and grandfather of Buya Hamka, is a place for religious tourism to be offered. In addition, Buya Hamka museum is also a tourist attraction that is often visited by foreign tourists. Just like the name, this museum specializes in the collection of objects left by Buya Hamka, where the building is the house where Hamka was born before moving to Padang Panjang. This museum has an architectural form like Gadang House with a gabled roof and Minang carving ornaments.

In recent days, the daily cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia have shown a decline. Yesterday (6/9), there were 4,413 new positive cases. This data is certainly relieving. President Joko Widodo said the daily cases of Covid-19 for the past three days had decreased. In a Limited Meeting on the Evaluation of the Implementation of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) with his aides via video conference from the State Palace, Jakarta, Monday (6/9), President Joko Widodo viewed that the national bed occupancy rate has also dropped to 20 percent.

The decline is certainly encouraging news, after in recent months the increasing number of daily cases has saddened the Indonesian people. But the most important point is that the decline in daily cases should not let the Indonesian people careless. As stated by Deputy Minister of Health, Dante Saksono Harbuwono in a press statement regarding the latest PPKM development yesterday, he reminded all parties to remain cautious in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. He added that this is the time for the Indonesian people to strengthen medical resilience.

All components of the nation must be involved in strengthening medical resilience. The policies taken and implemented by the government must be fully supported by the Indonesian people in carrying out the PPKM with high discipline. The lowering of the PPKM level status in a number of regions in Indonesia must be accompanied by high discipline in implementing the set health protocols.

Consciously, the Indonesian people must also take part in detection efforts to suppress the spread of Covid-19. One of them is by downloading the PeduliLindung application which is used to monitor the community, mitigate and evaluate the mobility status of each individual. Public awareness to use the PeduliLindung application in activities in the trade, transportation, tourism, office, education and religious sectors, will facilitate the tracking and handling of Covid-19.

Discipline and vigilance remain the main keys to suppress the spread of Covid-19. This must be firmly entrenched in oneself, thoughts and steps taken by every individual in Indonesia. Thus, the spike in cases that occurred again in several countries, such as the United States, Britain and Israel does not occur in Indonesia. With the strengthening of Indonesia's medical resilience, this can also detect and prevent new variant of the Covid-19 virus, such as the Mu Virus. May the Indonesian people get healthier!

Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have started negotiations on Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA) to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. The Indonesian Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi at the launching ceremony in Bogor, West Java, last Thursday, September 2, said that these negotiations marked a new chapter in trade relations between the two countries. On this occasion, Indonesian Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi and the Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, signed a joint statement on the launch of the IUAE-CEPA negotiations.

Trade Minister Lutfi said this launch marked the start of the first round of Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations which were held from September 2 to 4, 2021. The two countries are committed to the comprehensive economic agreement that will be completed within one year from its launch or in 2022.

Muhammad Lutfi believes the IUAE-CEPA will be completed within one year because pre-negotiations have been carried out. In addition, the United Arab Emirates is also committed to signing the cooperation agreement immediately.

According to Lutfi, there are three main things that make the comprehensive economic agreement important for Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. First, historically, it is Indonesia's first negotiation with a country in the Gulf region. For the United Arab Emirates this is also the first negotiation with trading partners in Asia. Second, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates as the two main economic powers need to strengthen cooperation so that they can complement each other. Third, the comprehensive economic agreement is expected to be not only a collaboration between the government and the government but also between business actors and the people of the two countries. Muhammad Lutfi emphasized that the IUAE-CEPA significantly encourages increased productivity, innovation, job creation, business collaboration, and contributes to poverty alleviation for both parties.

Meanwhile Minister Al Zeyoudi said bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia have been going on for a long time based on close cultural ties. Both countries are also committed to enabling greater economic development and people's prosperity. He emphasized that the IUAE-CEPA will be the basis for a closer partnership for mutual progress by creating new opportunities, attracting greater investment and employment, and accelerating global economic recovery. 

West Nusa Tenggara, especially Lombok, is an area that has beautiful beaches. One of them is Sekotong Beach which is located in West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province. It has clear sea water, beautiful white sand and amazing nature, which is still untouched by air, water or soil pollution. So, Sekotong Beach with small hills is really natural. Climbing the hills will be fun. In addition, you can see the beautiful sunrise and sunset on the hills. Some people say that traveling to Lombok is not perfect if not watching the sunrise and sunset on Sekotong beach.Sekotong Beach is also a paradise if you are lovers of underwater beauty, because this beach has coral reefs that are rarely touched and still natural. So, it is not surprising that Sekotong beach has an amazing underwater view with intact corals and diverse underwater inhabitants.

Calm waves, breezy wind and fine white sand are like a reception for every tourist who comes. The green trees that line up neatly along the beach add to the beauty of Sekotong beach. On this beach you can also enjoy a sun bath to your heart's content.For those of you who have a hobby of photography, Sekotong beach has many beautiful spots, guaranteed you will not be disappointed to see the results. The beach atmosphere is not crowded with visitors, making you feel at home playing with the waves. Many corals along the coast also make this beach very unique and interesting.

The Sekotong Beach area in West Lombok is a complete tourists’ destination. Because there are many hotels with all the facilities, and of course with various prices. It only takes about 2 hours by motor vehicles from Mataram City to arrive at Sekotong Beach. Apart from going through Mataram, this beach can also be reached from the Nusa Penida Harbor by chartered boat. The trip from Nusa Penida to Sekotong beach takes three hours.