VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI News :  The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has emphasized that cooperatives have the potential to act as a driving force for the establishment of waste banks in the community.

"Cooperatives and waste banks have close relations in the context of plastic waste management and sustainable development, as well as being involved in the establishment and management of waste banks," the ministry's secretary, Arif Rahman Hakim, said on Friday.

During the "Complaints and Receiving Public Aspirations in the Cooperatives and SMEs Fields" discussion, he stated that cooperatives can establish waste banks to improve waste management and create new resources for their members.

Hakim underlined that waste management is a serious challenge that Indonesia is facing given its growing population and changing lifestyles, which has contributed to a continued increase in waste.

"This requires a smart and sustainable solution. This is why a cooperative-based approach is highly relevant," he added.

He said that even though Indonesia already has large landfills and waste processing sites, they are not yet fully effective.

Therefore, the government is continuing to seek various solutions, and one of the solutions that is currently being implemented widely is the establishment of waste banks, he added.

"The circular economic approach has a meaningful impact on the economy, environment, and society," he said.

According to data from the Ministry of National Development Planning, the circular economy could potentially increase Indonesia's GDP by up to Rp638 trillion (around US$40.81 billion) by 2030. (Antara/VOIRRI)

VOI News : Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas extended his best wishes to the press on National Press Day 2024, which fell on Friday, and urged journalists to continue strengthening concord among religious communities.

"Happy National Press Day! I hope that the Indonesian press will continue to take part in enlightening people and strengthening harmony among religious communities. I would like to thank journalists for synergizing with the Religious Affairs Ministry in supporting religion development," he said in Jakarta.

He lauded the theme "Escorting National Leadership Transition and Safeguarding National Integrity" for this year's National Press Day, saying that it is highly relevant given Indonesia's current statehood dynamics for two reasons.

First, this year's National Press Day has come just days before the voting day of the 2024 General Elections (February 14). He emphasized that the press can play a significant role in achieving Indonesia's dream of honest, fair, and confidential elections.

To that end, he asked Indonesian journalists to assist the government in encouraging people to exercise their voting rights wisely and prudently.

"As the fourth pillar of democracy, the press wields a strategic role in overseeing every stage of national development, including the period of national leadership transition," he said.

Elaborating on the second reason, he stressed that the upcoming elections must not disrupt the well-fostered harmony in Indonesia and emphasized the importance of anticipating any potential for discord in the aftermath of the elections. (Antara/VOIRRI)

VOI News :  The Jakarta Metropolitan Police have prepared 5,822 personnel to secure election rallies for presidential candidate pairs at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Main Stadium and Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Jakarta on Saturday (February 10).

"We divided them into two: 2,566 personnel at JIS and 3,256 personnel at GBK," said Police Chief Commissioner Ade Ary Syam Indradi, head of public relations of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, on Friday.

Two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates, Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar and Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, will hold large-scale campaign rallies in Jakarta on Saturday, marking the end of the campaigning period.

Anies and Muhaimin will hold their rally at JIS, while Prabowo and Gibran will hold their rally at GBK Main Stadium.

Indradi said that the joint team of personnel has been drawn from the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, district and city police, the Jayakarta Regional Military Command, and government agencies at the provincial and city levels, including the Public Order Security Agency and the Fire Management and Rescue Office.

In the GBK area, a car-free rule will be applied from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

He appealed to people to help ensure security, safety, order, and smooth traffic flow.

"Let us pray for the realization of security for the implementation of the general elections, maintain the nation's unity so that we are not divided, and hopefully, the 2024 General Elections will run safely, peacefully, and with dignity," he said.

Indonesia will hold the elections on February 14, when around 204.8 million voters are expected to participate. (Antara/VOIRRI)

BUMN holdings met at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment office - 

Voinews, Jakarta - Tourism BUMN Holding and its supporters, PT Aviasi Wisata Indonesia (Persero) or InJourney will again present the F1Powerboat international motorboat racing event on March 2-3 2024 on Lake Toba. By presenting various events, InJourney is ready to repeat the success of F1Powerboat 2023. It is hoped that F1Powerboat 2024 will provide an even greater multiplier effect considering that last year it had an economic impact of up to IDR 391 billion.

F1Powerboat 2024 on Lake Toba is planned to be held in Balige, Toba Regency, North Sumatra. A total of 18 international racers from around 10 countries will take part in F1Powerboat on Lake Toba.

In order to enliven F1Powerboat, InJourney will present a side event that is no less lively. This time, InJourney will present the Solu Bolon competition between North Sumatra districts and also the First Aquabike Indonesian Championship Series competition which will be attended by approximately 30 Indonesian jetski athletes. Apart from that, the side event will also present a cultural and MSME festival from February 29 to March 3 2024.

"We are collaborating with all parties to jointly encourage the potential of Lake Toba as one of the 5 Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP) to continue to be recognized on the international stage. "One of the efforts to encourage the tourism sector on Lake Toba is to make it water sport tourism," said the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan during the F1Powerboat Press Conference (07/02).

He added that holding international scale events is a motor and catalyst for the region in carrying out promotions so that in the end it will create an extraordinary multiplier effect for the economic growth of the surrounding community. "We are grateful that by holding two international events on Lake Toba, namely the F1Powerboat and the Aquabike Jetski World Championship, the name of Lake Toba has come alive again. "The extraordinary exposure has made Lake Toba included in the New York Times list of must-visit destinations," added Luhut.

Present at the press conference, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno. He said that the Government had invested heavily in 5 DPSPs, so sustainable events were needed to continue to increase tourist traffic. "The presence of the F1Powerboat event has been proven to stimulate the community's economy and also become a forum for MSMEs to develop their businesses to become bigger. The implementation of F1Powerboat last year had an economic impact of up to IDR 391 billion. "We hope that this year's F1Powerboat can have a bigger economic impact than last year," said Sandiaga.

Sandiaga added that in 2023 the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia will increase to 11.7 million. This increase is also supported by interesting and high-quality events, one of which is F1Powerboat.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Dito Ariotedjo, expressed his pride in the enthusiasm of residents around Lake Toba at previous international events, especially the 2023 Aquabike Jetski World Championship which was able to attract up to 200,000 visitors. This shows the potential for water sports tourism in Indonesia to become a special attraction for the community.

"I am also grateful for the extraordinary collaboration, especially in this event, apart from the international motorboat racing event, there is also a jetski racing competition which will be participated in by our national athletes, as well as a Solu Bolon racing which will be participated in by local residents of North Sumatra. "This event is very interesting and has the potential for us to bring back Indonesian local heroes, especially for water sports events." Dito said.

Dito added that with the launch of water sports events on Lake Toba, the government will prepare a special academy to educate athletes so they can compete in international championships such as the F1Powerboat and Aquabike Jetski World Championship.

Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, Deputy Minister of BUMN also expressed his pride in Lake Toba because this international sporting event can gain very high coverage. He hopes that in the future tourist traffic will continue to increase in all 5 DPSPs. "The extraordinary support cannot be separated from the synergy of BUMN which also makes full efforts to support increasing tourist traffic," added Tiko.

“InJourney, which in 2023 successfully held F1Powerboat, is preparing again to make the event a success. Through various programs and events at F1Powerboat, InJourney will present water sport tourism which will attract many tourists. "We hope that this event will be held more successfully, thereby providing an even greater multiplier effect," said InJourney's Main Director, Dony Oskaria.

Dony explained that in developing tourism, InJourney does it comprehensively, one of which is by ensuring that holding an event can have an extraordinary economic impact on the community, both directly and indirectly. Apart from that, by holding a global scale event, Indonesia gets high media exposure on the international stage. "The main thing is how we can promote tourism destinations to the eyes of the world so that this can bring in tourist traffic so that the local community will feel the impact, especially the economic impact," he explained.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Wednesday (07/02/24), last year, through the Aquabike Jetski World Championship 2023, Indonesia successfully hosted the international jetski championship. This success was recognized by the Founder of H2O Racing Management, Nicolo Di San Germano, who said that Lake Toba is the best venue in the world as a jet ski racing location because of the beauty, splendor and charm of Lake Toba.
This year's F1Powerboat event will also be enlivened by the first Aquabike Indonesian Championship series. In this event, 2 categories will be held, namely endurance and parallel slalom. Around 20 national racers will take part in this event. This opportunity will open up opportunities for athletes to develop their best performance and participate in the next Aquabike World Championship on Lake Toba.

F1Powerboat is a world championship which is the main and superior series in racing competitions specifically for single-driver motorboats. F1Powerboat is a world championship that stimulates high adrenaline and is considered the most spectacular sport in the world.

This competition uses single-driver motorboats that have spectacular speed, with a length of 5 meters and a weight of more than 500 kg. With a 400 horsepower engine, this motorboat can reach speeds of more than 220 km/hour. In 2024, 9 countries with a total of 18 racers will compete for 1 season to win the world title. This championship consists of qualifying rounds, sprint races and grand prix//VOI