VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Here are the Headlines of several national newspapers published today, December 11 2018.

We begin with Media Indonesia which wrote, “Underdeveloped Villages Keep Decreasing.”

Slowly but surely, Indonesia will say goodbye to underdeveloped villages. Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded, Village Development Index 2018 increased compared to 2014. That was indicated based on five dimensions of Village Development Index. They are basic services, infrastructure condition, transportation, public service, and village administration. The underdeveloped village reduction also passed beyond government’s target in the 2015-2019 National Medium Term Development Plan, which are 5000 villages. While the target for independent village increase also went beyond the target of 2000 villages.

Moving on to Republika with, “Investigate e-KTP Case.”

Home Affairs Ministry asked for assistance from National Police to investigate the electronic ID card (e-KTP) cases. There are four cases being coordinated by the Ministry to the Police. Some perpetrators have been revealed and arrested, but the Ministry want deeper investigation to prevent it from repeating.

We end the Headlines with Sindo which wrote, “Millennials got Mortage Loan Subsidy.”

The government through Public Works and People’s Housing Ministry is preparing special mortgage loans for the millennials, including those who work in state-owned companies. This policy aims to give the millennials’ opportunity to have houses. Currently, the plan is under study by the Ministry, Financial Services Authority, and Finance Ministry. Minister of Public Works and People’s Housing, Basuki said, the mortgage loan scheme for the millennials is similar to the scheme for state civil apparatus, national army, and national police. The new scheme is expected to be launched next year.

Mosaic of Archipelago presents the following information: 10 Gotong Sisingaan Art Groups Enliven Sisingaan Festival in Subang; Situbondo Ultra Run; and Mayor of Batam City Asked the City Administration to Use Less Plastic.

At least, 10 Gotong Sisingaan Art groups enlivened the Sisingaan Festival in Subang on Sunday (9/12). Acting Regent of Subang, Ating Rusnatim said, the festival aims to preserve the culture of Gotong Sisingaan. Meanwhile, Marketing Strategy and Communication Assistant Deputy at the Tourism Ministry, Hariyanto said that the event was an award from the government for the great creation of ancient Subang artists. According to him, Gotong Sisingaan symbolizes the struggle against Dutch colonialism in conquering the plantation in Subang before the independence era.

Next info is about Situbondo Ultra Run. Situbondo Ultra Run was held again in Situbondo, East Java. There were 1,555 athletes from across Indonesia joining the cross country race at the slope of Mt. Argopuro, the longest hiking trail in Java Island. Regent of Situbondo, Dadang Wigiarto said, the Situbondo Ultra Run also promoted the natural tourism in Mt. Argopuro and Rengganis Sites.

Our last information is that Mayor of Batam City, Muhammad Rudi asked the city administration to use less plastic bottle and straw in a bid to reduce plastic waste. The Mayor said on Monday (11/12), the government plans to create City Mayor Regulation as the legal basis from the plastic use limitation policy among city administration employees. The regulation will limit the use of water bottle or other single-use plastics in events organized by regional secretary or regional administration organizations.

Diplomatic Corner presenting you various Indonesian diplomacy, both domestically and internationally.

The first information is from The Hague, Netherlands. Indonesian Embassy in The Hague, cooperating with Pelangi Wastra Indonesia, held a fashion show themed “The Modest Heritage of Indonesia” on Friday (7/12). Six fashion designers, one shoe designer, and one bag designer joined the group. The event aimed to promote Indonesian cultural wealth and diversity through traditional cloths, the basic fashion material of Pelangi Wastra Indonesia. Indonesian Ambassador to Netherlands, Wesaka Puja in his speech said, through the fashion show, the visitors were expected to understand Indonesian cultural wealth and the developing creative industry of the country.

Next is from South Africa. Indonesian Batik became the top favorite during Diplomatic Fun Fair 2018 at Ditson Pioneer Museum, Pretoria, South Africa on Saturday (8/12). More than 200 visitors hunted Batik, traditional food, and coffee of Indonesia. Diplomatic Fun Fair is an annual event hosted by South African Foreign Ministry to introduce their people to diplomatic world. The event also enables representatives in South Africa to introduce their countries through art and culture. This year, there were 2000 visitors and 15 foreign representatives joining the event.

We end the Diplomatic Corner with information from Cambodia. For the 4^th time, Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh participated in the Cambodia Import-Export and One Province One Product Exhibition in Phnom Penh on December 8-11. This year, Indonesian Embassy facilitated 9 small-medium enterprises from Indonesia to enter Cambodian market with their products, such as Batik, F&B, accessories, cosmetics, and medicines. Besides, there were 10 distributors in Cambodia participating to promote Indonesian products.

Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Sudirman Haseng said, the Embassy will use more trade promotion activities in Cambodia to intensify the promotion of Indonesian top products, especially from small-and-medium enterprises -SMEs. The Ambassador said, the good quality of Indonesian products have been recognized by Cambodian people, especially the always-expected Batik.

In this edition, I will bring you some information about the Indonesian Choir which won perfect score at the Internazionale Chorus Inside Advent Festival in Italy. So, stay tuned in to RRI World Service, Voice of Indonesia that you can listen to via shortwave on 3325 Khz, streaming at www.voinews.id or RRI Play application on your smart phone. 

Indonesia once again can be proud of its youth who have brought fame to the nation. Young people from Indonesia who are members of the Jakarta Youth Choir (JYC) won five awards at the 34th Internazionale Chorus Inside Advent Festival. A choir competition that took place from 1-3 December 2018 at the Pantheon, Rome, Italy.

The Jakarta Youth Choir itself is an organization focused on the field of choir art, under the auspices of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Youth and Sports Agency. This organization was formed in 2015 by Septo Adi Kristanto. Members of the Jakarta Youth Choir themselves come from various circles, there are university and highschool students, employees from state-owned and   private companies also government agencies.

In the 34th Internazionale Chorus Inside Advent Festival, the Jakarta Youth Choir had to face participants from eight other countries, namely Italy, France, Croatia, the United States, Romania, Ghana, Russia and Poland.

The performance of the Jakarta Youth Choir in the festival managed to impress the judges and spectators. In its performance, the Jakarta Youth Choir presented Indonesian regional songs such as Soleram, Jali-Jali, Toki Tifa, Hela Rotan, Bungong Jeumpa, and Yamko Rambe Yamko, as well as other popular songs like O Nata Lux, Cantate Domino, and Gloria Patri.

Thanks to excellent performances and also supported by attractive costumes and choreography, Jakarta Youth Choir won awards in five categories, namely champion Folklore Category, Golden Mixed Category Diploma (Music and Choreography), and Special Award for Best Choreography and Best Conductor, Septo Adi Kristanto Simanjuntak. Jakarta Youth Choir was also named the overall champion with the acquisition of perfect scores, namely 30/30. This is the first time the jury has given a perfect score to any participants.

That was today’s edition of Miscellany with the topic of Indonesian Choir won a perfect score at the Internazionale Chorus Inside Advent Festival in Italy. We will meet again in the next colorful edition.