VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Ambassador Mohamad Hery Handed Over Letter of Credentials to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta - DIPLOMATIC CORNER

Indonesian Ambassador to Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Uganda as well as Indonesian Permanent Representative for United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat, Mohamad Hery Saripudin has handed over letter of credentials to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi recently.

During the submission, Ambassador Hery extended the warm regards of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his hope on increasing both countries' bilateral cooperation. Ambassador Hery as quoted in a written statement of Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi on Friday said that  President Joko Widodo invited President Uhuru Kenyatta to visit Indonesia and to open Kenyan embassy in Jakarta. Hery also congratulated Kenya as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council 2021-2022.

On the same occasion, Ambassador Hery also conveyed his commitment to enhance Indonesia-Kenya relations and cooperation, especially in economy. Tight cooperation with Kenya in promotion trade, investment, and tourism is done to support Kenya's Big Four Agenda. The four big agenda of Kenyan government are food security, affordable housing, people's health, and manufacturing.

Meanwhile, President Uhuru Kenyatta enthusiastically welcomed Indonesia's intention to improve cooperation. He also instructed Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister, Raychelle Omamo and the team to immediately realize the bilateral relations and cooperation increase initiatives, including the opening of Kenyan embassy in Jakarta.

Vaccines Come, Health Protocols Are Still Applied - EDITORIAL 

Sunday, December 6, 1.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Banten from China. The vaccine produced by the Sinovac Company is part of the first stage procurement of 3 million doses of the SARS-CoV-2 type vaccine from China. In his press statement, President Joko Widodo said that there are still 1.8 million doses of Sinovac vaccine to come in January 2021. In addition, 45 million doses will arrive in the form of bulk raw materials for the manufacture of the Covid-19 vaccine in the same month. The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine is the answer to the questions of the Indonesian people so far when the Covid-19 vaccine would arrive.

The arrival of this first batch of vaccines also provides new hope for the Indonesian people who have been tired of being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic for almost one year. According to Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, Airlangga Hartarto, the implementation of vaccination will build a sense of security and confidence as a nation in carrying out various socio-economic activities to support health security, boost productivity, and maintain and increase national economic growth. The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine needs welcoming. The vaccination programs give hope that this pandemic will end soon. But that high hope should not disobey caution.

The goal of vaccination is to reduce the number of pain and mortality due to a disease by building immunity so that it does not get sick even though it is exposed to a disease. Individual health impacts community health. The fewer sufferers are, the transmission is more likely to be prevented.

However, based on experience, vaccines cannot be given once. The same is the case with the Covid-19 vaccine. After getting the vaccine, don't think that someone is no longer likely to be exposed with Covid-19. Usually, there is a repeat of the vaccine periodically so that it is truly effective. Thereby, vaccination does not necessarily make the corona virus that causes Covid-19 disappear on this earth. That’s why, caution must be maintained. While vaccinations are running, health protocols must also be applied. Wearing a mask, keeping distance and washing hands are actually quite effective ways to prevent the Covid-19 transmission. In addition, the government also cannot relax the 3-T measures: Tracing, Testing and Treatment during the vaccination.

The government cuts collective leave to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 - EDITORIAL

The Indonesian government through a Joint Decree of the Three Ministers has officially reduced the days of collective leave in 2020 from the previously agreed 11 days to 8 days.  The elimination of 3 days of the joint leave is aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 from becoming more widespread because people will take advantage of holidays to return to their hometowns or visit tourism attractions.

It seems that the government has learned from the previous decision, when it imposed a long leave of absence at the end of October, and does not want to repeat that mistake. The recent spike in positive cases of Covid-19 is closely related to the long vacation at that time. Collective leave is not certainly the only factor, but it can be assumed it is the biggest factor. Why? Because, the addition of positive cases occurred exactly two weeks after the holiday period. So, it is appropriate if the government cuts off collective leave at the end of the year, not only reducing the collective leave, but banning people to go home, such as the one imposed by the government during the Idul Fitri holidays some time ago.

However, will cutting joint leave at the end of this year be effective in suppressing the spread of Covid-19? Probably not! Public awareness and discipline in implementing the Health Protocols is very important. The spread will be suppressed with high discipline from the community in implementing health protocols and the consistency of the government in implementing the 3T policy (tracing, testing, and treatment) and the enforcement of health protocol regulations is very important.

The government and public  should be able to build synergies to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which has recorded a daily positive number of nearly 8,400 people more recently. Without discipline and cooperation, the cutting off of collective leave days at the end of this year will be in vain.

Combination of Batik and Seshweshwe Fabric in a Bridal Dress Competition in South Africa                                                                                                             KBRI SOUTH AFRICA 

On November 25, Indonesian embassy in Pretoria, South Afrika conducted batik diplomacy by organizing a competition pilot project to make women's clothing from batik and South African traditional fabric, Seshweshwe. The competition which invited Vocational High School of North Pretoria (Tshwane North TVET College) took a theme “The Beauty of Batik and Seshewshwe : A collaboration of creativity in South African Bride Fashion Design”.

A series of competition processes have been held since September 2020 in commemoration of South African Heritage Day on September 24, 2020 and Batik Day in Indonesia which falls on October 2, 2020. In a relatively short time, eight students from Tshwane North TVET College successfully completed their designs in the form of a South African wedding dress which is a combination of batik and Seshweshwe cloth, which was exhibited before the jury in two stages. The first stage on November 19^th, 2020 was carried out by a South African jury and on November 25^th, 2020 by an Indonesian jury chaired by Umi Salman Al Farisi, wife of the Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa. The judging process took place at the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria. Appearing as the first winner was Petronella Makgeta in a batik dress with Rangrang pattern and as the second winner was Minicent Rasekgwalo who wore Betawi batik.

Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa, Salman Al Farisi in his speech said that students in this activity were not just competing. They dare to combine two cultures that have grown up for centuries in Indonesia and South Africa. Ambassador Salman explained that the wedding dress, which is a combination of batik and Seshweshwe, which is a traditional South African cloth, contains a message of harmony between the two nations that support each other and work together.