VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Archive photographs depicts Indonesian general election in 1955, the country's first since independence. ANTARA/HO-ANRI/nbl - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The National Archives of Indonesia (ANRI) retells Indonesia's 1955 general election as the first election since independence through historical artefacts and collections of the agency and other sources.

"The principles of our first election in 1955 were honest, direct, general, free, secret, and solidarity," Junior Archivist Mudanto Pamungkas stated here, Wednesday.

Pamungkas explained that the ANRI archives concerning the 1955 election are available in text, photographs, and audio-visual forms originating from the then-Information Ministry and Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama.

The ANRI also collected archives from ANTARA News Agency that reported news and stories about the election, he added.

Quoted from Antara news, Pamungkas explained that the 1955 election was organized in two phases. The first phase was held on September 29 to elect 257 members of the House of Representatives, while the second phase was organized on December 15 to elect 514 members of the Constitutional Assembly, also known as Konstituante.

"The legal basis of the 1955 election was Law No. 7 of 1953 on Election of Konstituante and House of Representative members," the archivist stated.

Some 36 political parties, 34 mass organizations, and 48 independent candidates participated in the parliamentary election, he remarked, adding that 39 political parties, 23 mass organizations, and 29 independent candidates vied for seats in the Constitutional Assembly.

"The voter's registration for the election took place from May to November 1954. Residents eligible to vote are those aged at least 18 years old or who have married," he noted.

Of the 77.9 million members of the Indonesian population at that time, 43.1 million were entitled to vote, the archivist stated.

"Indonesian nationals overseas could not vote in the 1955 election, as decided during the 95th cabinet meeting on February 8, 1955," Pamungkas stated.

The results of the 1955 legislative election were dominated by four political parties: the Indonesian National Party (PNI), with 8.4 million votes, and the Islamist Masyumi Party, with 7.9 million votes, both awarded 57 seats.

Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama, which was politically active at that time, received 6.9 million votes, equal to 45 seats, while the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) won 6.1 million votes, meaning it was awarded 39 parliamentary seats//(Antara-VOI)

President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana showed their little finger after voting - 

Voinews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo hopes that the 2024 General Elections can be participated in by all Indonesian people happily. After exercising his right to vote at poll station (TPS) 10 Gambir in Central Jakarta, Wednesday morning (14/2), President Joko Widod expressed his hope that the implementation of the elections will run according to the principles: direct, public, free, confidential, honest and fair.

“This is a party of democracy; we hope that this will be the party of the people, and will also take place fairly, and overflowingly, and will be participated in by all Indonesian people with joy. Because, this is a people's party, a party of democracy”, President Jokowi stated. 

After voting, President Joko Widodo further said that he would immediately return to the palace to monitor the quick election count. He and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo arrived at TPS 10 Gambir in Central Jakarta, Wednesday morning at around 08.48 to vote. At the TPS, President Joko Widodo registered as a permanent voter list with number 50, while Mrs. Iriana is registered with number 47//(/trans-yati/Sekretariat Presiden/PNA)

BUMN holdings met at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment office - 

Voinews, Jakarta - Tourism BUMN Holding and its supporters, PT Aviasi Wisata Indonesia (Persero) or InJourney will again present the F1Powerboat international motorboat racing event on March 2-3 2024 on Lake Toba. By presenting various events, InJourney is ready to repeat the success of F1Powerboat 2023. It is hoped that F1Powerboat 2024 will provide an even greater multiplier effect considering that last year it had an economic impact of up to IDR 391 billion.

F1Powerboat 2024 on Lake Toba is planned to be held in Balige, Toba Regency, North Sumatra. A total of 18 international racers from around 10 countries will take part in F1Powerboat on Lake Toba.

In order to enliven F1Powerboat, InJourney will present a side event that is no less lively. This time, InJourney will present the Solu Bolon competition between North Sumatra districts and also the First Aquabike Indonesian Championship Series competition which will be attended by approximately 30 Indonesian jetski athletes. Apart from that, the side event will also present a cultural and MSME festival from February 29 to March 3 2024.

"We are collaborating with all parties to jointly encourage the potential of Lake Toba as one of the 5 Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP) to continue to be recognized on the international stage. "One of the efforts to encourage the tourism sector on Lake Toba is to make it water sport tourism," said the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan during the F1Powerboat Press Conference (07/02).

He added that holding international scale events is a motor and catalyst for the region in carrying out promotions so that in the end it will create an extraordinary multiplier effect for the economic growth of the surrounding community. "We are grateful that by holding two international events on Lake Toba, namely the F1Powerboat and the Aquabike Jetski World Championship, the name of Lake Toba has come alive again. "The extraordinary exposure has made Lake Toba included in the New York Times list of must-visit destinations," added Luhut.

Present at the press conference, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno. He said that the Government had invested heavily in 5 DPSPs, so sustainable events were needed to continue to increase tourist traffic. "The presence of the F1Powerboat event has been proven to stimulate the community's economy and also become a forum for MSMEs to develop their businesses to become bigger. The implementation of F1Powerboat last year had an economic impact of up to IDR 391 billion. "We hope that this year's F1Powerboat can have a bigger economic impact than last year," said Sandiaga.

Sandiaga added that in 2023 the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia will increase to 11.7 million. This increase is also supported by interesting and high-quality events, one of which is F1Powerboat.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Dito Ariotedjo, expressed his pride in the enthusiasm of residents around Lake Toba at previous international events, especially the 2023 Aquabike Jetski World Championship which was able to attract up to 200,000 visitors. This shows the potential for water sports tourism in Indonesia to become a special attraction for the community.

"I am also grateful for the extraordinary collaboration, especially in this event, apart from the international motorboat racing event, there is also a jetski racing competition which will be participated in by our national athletes, as well as a Solu Bolon racing which will be participated in by local residents of North Sumatra. "This event is very interesting and has the potential for us to bring back Indonesian local heroes, especially for water sports events." Dito said.

Dito added that with the launch of water sports events on Lake Toba, the government will prepare a special academy to educate athletes so they can compete in international championships such as the F1Powerboat and Aquabike Jetski World Championship.

Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, Deputy Minister of BUMN also expressed his pride in Lake Toba because this international sporting event can gain very high coverage. He hopes that in the future tourist traffic will continue to increase in all 5 DPSPs. "The extraordinary support cannot be separated from the synergy of BUMN which also makes full efforts to support increasing tourist traffic," added Tiko.

“InJourney, which in 2023 successfully held F1Powerboat, is preparing again to make the event a success. Through various programs and events at F1Powerboat, InJourney will present water sport tourism which will attract many tourists. "We hope that this event will be held more successfully, thereby providing an even greater multiplier effect," said InJourney's Main Director, Dony Oskaria.

Dony explained that in developing tourism, InJourney does it comprehensively, one of which is by ensuring that holding an event can have an extraordinary economic impact on the community, both directly and indirectly. Apart from that, by holding a global scale event, Indonesia gets high media exposure on the international stage. "The main thing is how we can promote tourism destinations to the eyes of the world so that this can bring in tourist traffic so that the local community will feel the impact, especially the economic impact," he explained.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Wednesday (07/02/24), last year, through the Aquabike Jetski World Championship 2023, Indonesia successfully hosted the international jetski championship. This success was recognized by the Founder of H2O Racing Management, Nicolo Di San Germano, who said that Lake Toba is the best venue in the world as a jet ski racing location because of the beauty, splendor and charm of Lake Toba.
This year's F1Powerboat event will also be enlivened by the first Aquabike Indonesian Championship series. In this event, 2 categories will be held, namely endurance and parallel slalom. Around 20 national racers will take part in this event. This opportunity will open up opportunities for athletes to develop their best performance and participate in the next Aquabike World Championship on Lake Toba.

F1Powerboat is a world championship which is the main and superior series in racing competitions specifically for single-driver motorboats. F1Powerboat is a world championship that stimulates high adrenaline and is considered the most spectacular sport in the world.

This competition uses single-driver motorboats that have spectacular speed, with a length of 5 meters and a weight of more than 500 kg. With a 400 horsepower engine, this motorboat can reach speeds of more than 220 km/hour. In 2024, 9 countries with a total of 18 racers will compete for 1 season to win the world title. This championship consists of qualifying rounds, sprint races and grand prix//VOI

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams with alumni of ILLA Program - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The Australian Embassy in Indonesia, together with the Indonesian Embassy in Australia, launched the Indonesian Language Learning Ambassadors (ILLA) pilot program on 7 February.

The program, announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo in July 2023, matches Indonesian Australia Awards university scholars with Australian schools for language and cross-cultural learning opportunities.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Wednesday (07/02/24), through the ILLA program, Australian school students have the opportunity to learn about Indonesian culture and enhance their Indonesian language skills.

Indonesian scholars in Australia have the opportunity to engage with Australian school students and teachers, developing their leadership skills and building connections with the local community. 

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams PSM said, "The ILLA program is a terrific way to promote Indonesian language-learning in Australian schools, by building connections between Indonesian scholars and Australian school students. It is these sorts of personal connections that underpin the strong relationship between the people of Australia and Indonesia”. 

The initial ILLA pilot will place ten Indonesian Australia Awards scholars in six schools. The program will expand later in 2024 to match scholars with Australian universities, to support Indonesian language and culture learning. A previous version of ILLA ran from 2017 until 2019//VOI