VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI News, Jakarta: The Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps is preparing its troops to participate in the 2024 Multilateral Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) Joint Training held by the United States Navy (USINDOPACOM) in Hawaii, the US.

According to a statement received on Friday from the Navy's Marine Corps Information Service, the preparations included a series of trainings at the Sutedi Senaputra Marine Corps, Karangpilang, Surabaya, East Java, for 14 days, starting from May 19 to June 1, 2024.

As reported by Antara (24/5) Commander of the Marine Task Force for the 2024 Rimpac Joint Training Major Lukman Susanto elaborated that the preparation exercise included checking on personnel and equipment readiness, deepening the material, and conducting several exercises, such as shooting and rappelling practice.

"This preparation exercise must be carried out by the task force participating in the joint training to support the 2024 Rimpac Joint Training in Hawaii next June," he noted.

The training also aims to boost the professionalism, loyalty, and combat skills of the Indonesian Navy Marine Corps soldiers, Susanto said.

In the planning for the exercise presented at a meeting at Fleet II Command Headquarters, Surabaya, last month, the Indonesian Navy prepared 43 soldiers from the Marine Corps and seven soldiers from the Frog Troop Command (Kopaska) for the 2024 Rimpac Joint Training. These troops will later join the 2024 Rimpac Task Force Joint Training led by Commander of navy ship (KRI) Raden Eddy Martadinata-331 Marine Colonel Adam Tjahja Saputra.

For this year's Rimpac Joint Training, the Indonesian Navy deployed the KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata-331, which is a warship from the Indonesian Navy's Second Fleet Command (Satkor) Eskorta Ship Unit.

On May 21, the warship conducted a firing test of the 76 Cannon in the north of Java Sea as part of the preparations.

Rimpac Joint Training is a maritime military exercise held routinely every two years by the United States Navy from the Joint Asia Pacific Defense Area Command (USINDOPACOM), stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The exercise, which was first held in 1971, usually takes place from mid-June to July.

Apart from troops from the Indonesian Navy, personnel from the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) are also prepared to join the training.

Head of Bakamla, Vice Admiral Irvansyah, shed light on the plans for Bakamla's participation in the 2024 Rimpac during his meeting with Deputy Commander of the United States Coast Guard (USGC), Admiral Steven D. Poulin, in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 9, 2024. (Antara)

VOInews, Jakarta: In order to increase the capacity of local MSMEs in the export market, the Malang Customs Office pioneered the Export Clinic programme. The programme is an assistance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have export potential in their working areas so that they can go international.

Malang Customs Extension and Information Services Section Head Dwi Prasetyo Rini revealed that the Export Clinic is a programme initiated by Customs to assist entrepreneurs who wish to carry out export activities. The Export Clinic is a consultation medium between service users and Customs employees for export activities. "In addition to providing socialisation on export procedures, we also coordinate with relevant ministries or institutions and regional agencies to support the empowerment of MSMEs," said Dwi, quoted from the beacukai.go.id page in Jakarta, Thursday (23/5/2024).

Dwi revealed that during the week, Malang Customs intensively assisted MSME players in the Greater Malang area. The assistance team visited the Sustainable Food Innovation MSME on Wednesday (15/5) and CV Kusuma Wijaya Plants on Friday (17/5). "In addition to conducting visits to MSME players, we also fulfilled the invitation of the Malang City Cooperative Industry and Trade Office to provide export socialisation for MSMEs," said Dwi.

The export socialisation was held at Hotel Montana, Malang, on Tuesday (21/05). In the socialisation entitled "Trade Mission for Leading Export Products", Malang Customs explained the potential and procedures for starting exports for MSMEs.

VOInews, Jakarta: the arrival of Indonesian hajj pilgrims in wave I entered the last day. The Integrated Hajj Information and Computerisation System (Siskohat) of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) recorded that 89,114 Indonesian pilgrims landed at Amir Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Airport (AMAA) in Madinah.

They are members of 229 flight groups (kloter). The arrival phase of the first batch of hajj pilgrims took place on 12 May 2024. This phase will end on 24 May 2024. On the same day, the second batch of Indonesian pilgrims will land at King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAAIA) Jeddah. "Some of the Daker Bandara officers today (Thursday) departed for Jeddah. They will prepare to welcome hajj pilgrims in the arrival phase of the second wave which will take place from 24 May to 10 June 2024," said Daker Airport Head Abdillah in Madinah, through a written statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs received by Indonesia Window here on Thursday (23/5/2024).

Meanwhile, some officers are still in Madinah to welcome the arrival of the last batch in the first phase. One of the Wukala leaders in the Madinah Airport Fasttrack lane, Abdullah Ishaq Al Hosah as Wukala Supervisor, felt greatly helped by the presence of Indonesian Hajj officers. "The presence of Indonesian Hajj officers at the airport is very much needed because it really helps us in our work. We can work faster because the officers help direct the pilgrims from the exit to the bus," said Abdullah.

Abdullah said he was impressed with the tenacity of the hajj officers in carrying out their duties. "Indonesian hajj officers are very compact in their work. They are also friendly and polite," Abdullah praised the Indonesian Hajj officers.

Abdullah also gave special praise to the Indonesian pilgrims. According to him, Indonesian pilgrims are easy to manage. "If all pilgrims were like the Indonesian pilgrims, we would be very comfortable at work," said Abdullah.

At the end of the chat, Abdullah invited Indonesian Hajj officers to work together to serve the guests of Allah. "We really appreciate the Indonesian Hajj officers. May we remain united in working together to serve the guests of Allah as well as possible. May Allah bless the Indonesian pilgrims and hajj officers," he concluded.

Before leaving for Jeddah, the Indonesian Hajj officers captured the moment with a photo with the Wukala officers and airport workers (umal). This reflects the good relationship between the two in welcoming the arrival of the congregation as well as supporting the smooth running of the task in the return phase later.

VOInews, Jakarta: The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) anticipates an increase in community mobility during the 2024 Vesak Day holiday. This anticipation is done by improving services and supervision, both in land, sea, air and rail transport.

"Ahead of the Vesak long holiday, from 23 to 26 May 2024, the Ministry of Transportation has prepared various efforts to ensure that public mobility can run smoothly, safely, comfortably and safely," said Ministry of Transportation Spokesperson Adita Irawati in Jakarta, Wednesday (22/5/2024).

As quoted from a written statement received on Wednesday (22/5/2024), the Ministry of Transport ensures the operation of transport by conducting vehicle safety checks or inspections (ramp checks). "In air transport, the Directorate of Air Transport directly conducts ramp checks at Soekarno Hatta Airport and Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport. In addition, ramp checks are also carried out by the Airport Authority in each region," wrote the Ministry of Transportation.

Furthermore, on land transport, checks are carried out on public buses and tourism buses. "The Ministry of Transport in coordination with the Korlantas Polri and the Regency / City Transportation Office has made efforts to curb the operation of public buses and tourism buses by prioritising road safety aspects. Meanwhile, users of land public transport services are encouraged to check the licence and roadworthiness of the fleet through the Mitra Darat application and spionam.dephub.go.id," he continued.

Safety and operational feasibility checks are also carried out on train and ship transportation. The Directorate General of Sea Transportation also increased supervision at ports throughout Indonesia through the Harbour Master and Port Authority (KSOP) Office, especially at tourist ports.

In addition, the Ministry has coordinated with stakeholders and transport operators to improve supervision and services at passenger density points, both at terminals, stations, airports and ports. "We continue to coordinate with operators of transportation facilities and infrastructure to maximise services to passengers. Officers at terminals, airports, stations and harbours will be increased, especially in areas that are congested and have the potential for long queues," Adita added.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Transport urges the public to always comply with applicable regulations, report if they find a problematic fleet, and anticipate the potential for bad weather during the trip.