VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

PHOTO : MINA NEWS

Indonesian Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, Azis Nurwahyudi on Thursday (17/9) invited the owner of Samara-based Tourism Company "U-Ra Group Companies" Olga Lashenko Makaryan and Victoria Agalakova to promote Indonesia. Azis Nurwahyu said that besides Bali, Indonesia has many tourism destinations that are also beautiful and unique. Social and Culture Information Function at Indonesian Embassy in Moscow, Enjay Diana in his statement (19/9) said that the visit to Samara was part of the Indonesian Embassy in establishing cooperation to promote Indonesia to potential tourist sources in Russia. Besides, his side wanted to remind Russians to visit Indonesia after the pandemic.

Besides Bali, the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow also promoted the 10 New Balis. The Indonesian Embassy will also hold the 10 New Bali promotion and Indonesian cultural show in Samara in November 2021 which is supported by U-Ra Group Companies. In the visit to Samara, Azis Nurwahyudi also met Indonesian students who study at some higher educations in Samara. There are six Indonesian students in Samara and they study Aeronautical Engineering, Rocket Complexes and Space Science, as well as Oil and Gas Engineering.

PHOTO : MONITORKEADILAN

Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, something that has received full attention of the Indonesian people is the 2020 simultaneous Regional Head Election (Pilkada 2020). The 2020 Pilkada is scheduled to be held simultaneously on December 9, 2020, in 270 cities and regencies across 9 provinces in Indonesia. Over the last few days, proposal for postponement of the Pilkada 2020 hasarisen due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposal to postpone the 2020 Pilkada came from various groups, such as the Governors, the largest Religious Organization in Indonesia, and the 12th Vice President Jusuf Kalla. In an interview with a TV station, Jusuf Kalla said that the implementation of the Pilkada on schedule is a choice, namely the choice of taking risks to the people or the choice of choosing a leader who could actually be postponed.

The choice has been made by the Indonesian Government. Presidential Spokesperson, Fadjroel Rachman in a media release published Monday (21/9) entitled ‘Pilkada on schedule, democratic and safe for Covid-19.’ He said that the Pilkada will be on schedule to safeguard the people's constitutional rights, the rights to be voted and the rights to vote. The 2020 Pilkada will be held with the application of strict health protocols. President Joko Widodo reaffirmed that the 2020 Pilkada will continue to be held on schedule. Because no single country knows when the Covid-19 pandemic will shake off. Thereby, the implementation of Pilkada must follow strict health protocols in order to be safe and remain democratic. The implementation of the Pilkada according to schedule also shows the international community that Indonesia is a constitutional democracy and maintains the sustainability of a democratic government system in accordance with the Pancasila ideology and the 1945 constitution.

The 2020 Pilkada must continue. What must be prepared so that it will take place according to the schedule is democratic and safe from Covid-19. On schedule and democratically, God’s willing; Indonesia is able to implement it. The fact is that success of the 2019 simultaneous general election has proven. Heavy duties and responsibilities for organizers, Pilkada participants, supporting parties, supporters and citizens are safe from Covid-19. There is a habit of Indonesian people who are always enthusiastic in every Democratic Party by getting to know the candidates who will be selected. It is undeniable that this could still occur. Obedience to maintaining health protocols is possible to ignore. This is the hard work for the 2020 Pilkada organizers, namely the General Election Commission -KPU. Hopefully, there is still enough time to prepare more appropriate methods and models in the preparation process until the Pilkada implementation. Maybe it can make proposals from many parties to carry out Pilkada by e-voting. Candidates for regional heads and their success teams must think about a more appropriate campaign method by prioritizing the health of their citizens. Of course, prospective voters must improve their awareness of implementing health protocols. Because it cannot be denied that the key success of the 2020 Pilkada which is on schedule, democratic and safe from Covid-9 is the prospective voters.

Hopefully, the Covid-19 pandemic will soon fade away and the world will come to healthy life.

photo : kbridenhaag

Dancers from Madaloka Dance Studio, who performed Kuda Lumping Dance hypnotized visitors of the Open Dag 2020 event at the community activity center in Best City or commonly known as Cultuurspoor Best (Sept 12). The flexible and dynamic movements combined with the colorful costumes of the dancers made the visitors keep capturing this moment while still paying attention to health protocols. The Open Dag is an annual event held in Dutch cities. This time, the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague along with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture visited the center of community activities in Best City which is located in the South of the Netherlands. Apart from introducing the Kuda Lumping dance from East Java, the Peacock Dance from West Java was also shown to the public at this activity. Nasi Tumpeng was also served to complete the experience of various Indonesian cultures and culinary delights.

Indonesia's participation in the Cultuurspoor Best also marked the opening of an Indonesian language course program for basic level foreign speakers (BIPA) and a course in traditional Indonesian dance. Both programs can be followed free of charge and are a form of cultural diplomacy carried out by the Indonesian government through the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague. Chargé d'Affaires ad Interim at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague, Fikri Cassidy expressed his appreciation to the City Government of Best and Cultuurspoor Best for integrating Indonesian language courses and traditional Indonesian dance courses into their programs. He also said that the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague would continue to support and present programs in a bid to promote Indonesian culture in the future.

Besides the city of Best, there are also other cities in the Netherlands that support the Indonesian Cultural House (RBI) The Hague program. The high appreciation and interest from the people of Best was conveyed by Deputy Mayor of Best, Ria van der Hamsvoord-Huijber and  Director of Cultuurspoor, Ingrid van Beek in his remarks. Furthermore, he also stated that the Open Dag aims to provide information on courses that can be followed by the local community. Typical courses include multilingual courses, ballet courses, theater, and photography.

photo : JP

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said 143 foreign companies plan to relocate investment to Indonesia, including those from the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and China. At the HSBC Economic Forum in Jakarta, Wednesday (16/9) Airlangga said that the investment relocation plan to Indonesia has the potential to absorb more than 300 thousand workers. He added that the relocation plan indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic had provided valuable lessons that supply chains of goods could not be centralized in one country.

Now many multinational companies are starting to relocate their industries from China to other Asian countries, especially ASEAN countries. Airlangga said this is an opportunity for Indonesia to replace China's position as an investment destination and a new global supply chain hub.

However, Airlangga is aware that the risk of uncertainty this year is still very high, so that the Indonesian economy is facing both external and internal pressures. He explained that the pressure from the external side was a global uncertainty that had its roots in the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the global economy to be predicted to remain bad. Meanwhile, from the internal side, the pressure that occurred was in line with the global economic slowdown, namely that growth for Indonesia in the second quarter contracted or minus 5.32 percent.

Therefore, Airlangga confirmed that currently the Indonesian government is preparing various policies in order to overcome these external and internal pressures. He explained that the steps and policies that are being pursued by the government include immediately completing the discussion of the Job Creation Bill with the House of Representatives so that investment can increase.

In addition, the government has prepared the Investment Priority Listusing a "picking the winners" approach. This will cover the business fields that will be encouraged and provided with facilities, both taxation and non-taxation. Airlangga Hartarto hopes that this investment priority list will attract investment that is not only large, but also high quality and able to create jobs.

Meanwhile, the government is strengthening industrial development and transportation and logistics connectivity, by developing corridors along the northern part of Java Island. In addition, it has also formulated an initiative to build a Super Hub as a center for production, trade, technology and finance. Airlangga is optimistic that the Indonesian economy through concrete and appropriate policies will be able to overcome the challenges that are being faced in 2020.