VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The United States withdrew all its troops from Afghanistan on the evening of August 30, one day ahead of schedule. Upon the departure of the United States, the Taliban declared that Afghanistan was fully independent. Now, what the Taliban has to do is prove that without the US and its allies, Afghanistan will be better off politically, economically, socially and religiously. The international community is waiting for the Taliban's promise.

From a security standpoint, the Taliban must demonstrate that Afghanistan will be safe from the intrusion of ISIS, which a week earlier had admitted responsibility for the two suicide bombings that exploded outside Kabul's international airport. The incident killed many people including a number of American soldiers. The takeover of Hamid Karzai international airport by the Taliban after the departure of the United States will be a testament to how the Taliban maintain security and open the airport to the needs of the refugees. The UN Security Council passed a safe passage resolution on Monday asking the Taliban to ensure the safety of refugees leaving Afghanistan. In addition, the Taliban were also asked to guarantee the distribution of humanitarian aid and the implementation of human rights principles.

The Taliban must also quickly demonstrate that they are capable of managing and operating Kabul's international airport and administering Afghanistan through a widely recognized government. This requires cooperation with other countries. It is said, the Taliban were in talks with Turkey regarding cooperation in the management and operation of its airport.

Since 2002, Turkey has included its troops with NATO not as a combat force, but in handling logistics matters. On the basis of urgent need, it is very possible that the Taliban will have to cooperate with Turkey. The country certainly sees Afghanistan, after the end of the war with the United States, as very strategic in terms of its geopolitical interests. Cooperation with the Taliban, will make Turkey have a new foothold in playing its influence, especially in Central and South Asia.

If the situation is getting better when we can travel again, please visit various regions in Indonesia, such as South Kalimantan. In addition to visiting beautiful tourist objects, in South Kalimantan, you can also enjoy a variety of special foods. You will find a variety of foods with the name Masak Habang.  There are Chicken Masak Habang, Egg Masak Habang and Snakehead Fish Masak Habang. Masak Habang is actually a seasoning. It is very commonly found in various kinds of cuisine typically Banjar tribe in South Kalimantan. Habang in Banjar language means red. Just like the name, Masak Habang seasoning is red-colored.

The red color of Masak Habang seasoning is produced from the main ingredient, which is dried red chili. This seasoning also uses shallots, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, terasi or shrimp paste, salt, and brown sugar. Even though it has a dark red appearance, Masak Habang seasoning doesn't taste spicy but tastes a bit sweet because it uses brown sugar as a food delicacy.

Various kinds of dishes can be combined with Masak Habang spices. The most common ones are hintalu (eggs), haruan fish (snakehead fish), chicken or chili sauce. Masak Habang dishes are often served at sultanate events, parties, weddings and formal events. As time goes by, this food can be enjoyed by all people and become a culinary heritage from Kalimantan. It is not difficult to find restaurants or food stalls that sell this menu in Banjar regency and other areas in Kalimantan.

Over the past two months of implementing Community Activity  Restrictions (PPKM) in  Java and Bali, Monday evening President Joko Widodo announced improvements in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the PPKM remains in effect until September 6, there are some favours of various fields.

Positive data on the transmission of Covid-19 until Monday evening (30/8) showed a number that was far below the positive number in mid-July to mid-August. Yesterday, the number of confirmed positive reached 5,436 within a day. This figure is far below the confirmed figure that has reached more than 57,000 within a day.

President Joko Widodo also remarked that the national hospital bed occupancy rate was only 27 percent. This progress is certainly welcomed by the community. It can be imagined that people may return to their normal activities. They can go to earn a living without any more barriers on the road. School children can go back to school to share face-to-face learnings. In fact, the Banten provincial government has announced that it will implement face-to-face learnings starting from September 1 tomorrow for Senior High Schools or High Vocational Schools -SMA/SMK.

This improving pandemic situation shows that so far, the policies implemented by the Indonesian government have been viewed appropriately and have brought about good results. The health protocols were successfully enforced. About 96.5 million vaccines have been injected to Indonesian citizens. Vaccination continues to be accelerated and supportey a lot of related stakeholders. The health system is not collapsing. This is evidenced by the occupancy rate of hospital beds which continues to decline. The number of deaths due to Covid-19 continues to decline, along with the increase in the number of recoveries.

However, President Joko Widodo reminded the public not to be careless and keep being cautious in responding to this improving trend. He also affirmed that the Indonesian nation must take important lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic situation experienced by various countries. Several countries, where 60% of the populations have been vaccinated, are still undergoing a surge in the transmission of Covid-19 cases. This happens because the community disobeys being disciplined in implementing the set health protocols.

Admittedly, the cooperation of all parties is the main requirement to shake off from this pandemic. The public must continue to apply health protocols. The government should accelerate the vaccination program, and maintain the health system. However, the government must not be careless with hoaxes related to the pandemic and vaccines that still exist today. The key to breaking these hoaxes is to establish good communication between the government and the public. This communication is so essential so that the public fully understand the government's program related to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, they are not easily carried away by hoaxes.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources continues to spur the growth of the rooftop solar power plant  industry in order to contribute significantly to the development of new and renewable energy in Indonesia. Director General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Dadan Kusdiana said it in an online discussion on Friday, August 27. According to him,  the revision of the Ministerial Regulation regarding the use of rooftop solar power plant   can answer the needs of its supporting industry. One of the urgency of the regulation revision is to answer the global challenges related to the consumption of green products, which must be met by the industrial sector quickly so that their products remain competitive and acceptable to consumers.

He further explained that the tendency of consumers for  green products made from environmentally friendly processes requires factories to use clean energy. The presence of supporting industries for roof solar power plant  or  PV mini-grid will improve the economy, thus making the cost of installing PV mini-grid more competitive. Indonesia can increase its capacity and have an industry from the upstream side for the manufacture of cells which are still imported. If this develops later, the solar power plant   industry in the country can grow.

Dadan said that he   continues to communicate with the Ministry of Industry and associations regarding the capacity of the local PV mini-grid industry built in Indonesia.

The government's main goal is to open up as wide as possible the domestic PV mini-grid market, so that it can spur business actors to build supporting industries for roof PV mini-grid, both in laminating  and upstream side of cell manufacture.

In January 2018, the number of rooftop solar power plant  users in Indonesia was only 351 customers, so the growth rate of rooftop solar power plant   customers reached 1,047 percent within three years. The current figure obtained by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is 22 to 26 ready manufacturers with a total capacity of around 500 megawatts.