VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will hold a joint military exercise in Kalimantan Island in few weeks to come. The military exercise is to complete regional resilience which has agreed by the three countries. This was affirmed by Minister of Defense, Ryamizard Ryacudu to media journalists at the Defense Ministry Office in Jakarta on Friday (08/6). He said the military exercise is also to focus on pressing and localizing terrorists in a bid to be handled easily. “The joint military exercise will be implemented after Eid ul Fitri. We are observing what the terrorists do and the training scheme of the exercise is adjusted to the condition. The exercise will be carried out in Kalimantan. It is a trilateral exercise. Well-trained personnel are ready. So, we will generalize the training," said Ryamizard Ryacudu. Meanwhile, Spokesperson of the Indonesian Defense Ministry, Brigadier General Totok Sugiharto explained that in the joint military exercise, Indonesia will involve 3 special troops of the Indonesian Military. They are special troops from Indonesian Army, Navy and Air Force. (VOI/AF/RHM)

Indonesia is officially elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council for 2019-2020 period representing the Asia-Pacific region. The vote was held at the UN General Assembly in New York, United States of America on Friday (June 8^th). Indonesia won the election by 144 votes of the total 190 UN member states, defeating Maldives that only seized 46 votes. Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi through a live streaming from the United Nations through webtv.un.org/ said that the result of this election is a form of trust given by UN member countries. On the same occasion, she also expressed her gratitude to all UN member states for the trust given to Indonesia in the UN Security Council.

“…Indonesia is honored to be elected as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2019-2020 with 144 votes. It was a privilege to have run for the candidacy with our good friend Maldives. On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of Indonesia, allow me to express our deepest appreciation for all of general support extended toward Indonesia’s candidacy. I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to member states of the United Nations for trusting Indonesia to be your true partner.” She said

Minister Retno Marsudi added that the trust given by UN member states is a recognition of Indonesia's contribution to world peace for decades. In addition, Indonesia's election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council also strengthens Indonesia's commitment to keep maintaining world peace and security. Indonesia had previously been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for three periods in 1973-1974, 1995-1996 and 2007-2008. The UN Security Council is comprised of 15 member states consisting of five-veto member states: the USA, Russia, China, Britain and France and 10 non-permanent members elected for a two-year period. (Rezha)

The Committee of Indonesian Citizens Alms (Zakat) in Egypt has utilized 17 regional associations in Egypt to facilitate the collection of alms. Coordinator of Alms Committee for Indonesian Citizens in Egypt, Samsu Alam Darius to Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) said in Cairo on Thursday (June 7^th) that the collection of alms for Indonesian citizens in Egypt, conducted by a committee consist of Indonesian Embassy staffs, Wakaf and Charity Board, Student Welfare and Indonesian Student Association in Egypt. Samsu also said that in Egypt, the amount of alms is 3 kilograms of rice or worth with 30 Egyptian Pounds and for forfeit (fidyah) of 45 Egyptian Pounds. Indonesian citizens who pay zakat are expatriates, Indonesian businesspeople, large families of Indonesian diplomats and some students.

“Alhamdulillah, according the current update, we have collected zakat fitrah and zakat mal (property alms). If converted to Rupiah, there are about 30 million rupiah. We expect to achieve like last year’s amount reaching about 100 to 150 million rupiah,” said Samsu Alam.

According to Samsu, the collected alms will be distributed to the mustahiq or the person who is eligible to receive the alms. For the recipients, the committee has prioritized the Indonesian citizens such as students and Indonesian migrant workers, especially who face protection problem in Egypt. Until now, the alms that distribute to the committee still continue to flow. Not only from Indonesian citizens, but also from foreigners such as from Brunei Darussalam also partially distribute their alms to the committee of Indonesia in Cairo. The distribution of the alms will be closed on Sunday 12th June. (KBRN/Rian/RHM))

Homecoming culture that has always been done by Indonesian people to celebrate Idul Fitri triggers Indonesian Tourism Ministry to stabilize the number of Indonesian tourists. Since the beginning of Ramadan, the Ministry has launched several programs; one of them is Pesona Mudik 2018. This was stated by Minister of Tourism, Arif Yahya at his welcoming speech of Pesona Mudik 2018 Launch at Jimbaran Ayana Midplaza, in Jakarta on Wednesday( June 6^th 2018).

“When Ramadan comes, low season occurs in Indonesia. The number of domestic tourists usually recorded at 20 million drops drastically to only 10 million people. But at the end of Ramadan and Lebaran Eid ul Fitr festivity, the number of business movement records 20 million. So, the total number of domestic tourists in average is 20 million, especially for Ramadan and Lebaran which increase to 30 million. So, Pesona Mudik 2018 will accompany Genpi to inform things that you want to know most about a region such as one of the top-ten culinaries in each city, and top-ten destinations. When Lebaran comes, where you want to go, we will inform. The third one is top-ten events in each city,” Arief Yahya said.

Minister Arif Yahya added that the decreasing number of foreign tourist visit reaching as many as 50 percent will be overcome with interesting programs launched by the Tourism Ministry. The Hot Deal program for foreign tourists who wants to visit Indonesia during Ramadan and Lebaran has been launched. (VOI/NK/RHM)