VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A group of Indonesian dancers performed a traditional dance, ‘Reog Ponorogo’ before students and teachers at the Claremont College in Randwick, New South Wales (NSW) last Monday (18/2).  Four Indonesian male dancers and two female ones were specially invited by Indonesian Embassy in Canberra to promote Indonesian art and culture to Australia. The presence of   the dance group in Australia is also part of the efforts of Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture to popularize Indonesian traditional arts and culture in foreign countries. The promotion is the result of collaboration between the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Sydney. Representing the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney at the event was Consul for Information, Social and Culture, Hermanus Dimara accompanied by Assistant Joanne Hajjar.

A suicide bomber activated a home-made bomb in Cairo, Egypt, killing police officers who chase him through narrow alleys. Reports from the AFP News Agency said the incident was related (?) on Monday (02/19/2019) at 10:00 pm local time in the Darb al-Ahmar settlement, behind the historic Al-Alzhar mosque. Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt, Helmy Fauzi said in a press statement that there were no Indonesian citizens who were victims in the incident. The Indonesian Embassy in Cairo noted that suicide bombings also injured five people, consisting of two police officers and 3 civilians, including a student from Thailand. 

Entering its 14th year, the Indonesian Language course program for Native Speakers (BIPA) has increasingly attracted Saudi Arabians. This can be seen that within two-week registration, 262 people have been enrolled in the program. But, only 60 people were accepted because of limited class-room capacity. Indonesian Consul General (Konjen) in Jeddah, Mohamad Hery Saripudin in a press statement on Tuesday (02/19/2019) said that the high enthusiasm of Saudi Arabian people to learn Indonesian language, Bahasa indicates a stronger relationship between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Hery further said that during 2018, there were 1.5 million Indonesian people who visited Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umroh, excluding Indonesian citizens who come to Saudi Arabia for business visits, study and work. Meanwhile, about 190 thousand Saudi Arabian people visit Indonesia every year.