VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews,Jakarta: The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 2023 Hassan Wirajuda Protection of Indonesian Citizen Award (HWPA) at Graha Bhakti Budaya Taman Ismail Marzuki in Jakarta on Friday evening (26/4). The award appreciated 23 figures and entities from Indonesia and foreign countries, who have contributed to protecting Indonesian citizens (WNI) abroad.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi in her speech mentioned three reflections regarding the protection of Indonesian citizens during her time in office. One of them is increasingly complex challenges in which Indonesian citizens abroad face problems, such as disasters, conflicts, and even online fraud.

“From time to time, the number of cases of Indonesian citizens abroad is increasing. In 2022, the  cases  reached 35,149. This number also increased by more than 50 percent to 53,598 cases in 2023. Apart from the number of cases, world conditions are increasingly characterized by various dynamics ranging  from natural disasters, armed conflicts, to the development of increasingly sophisticated transnational crime modes,” she noted.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that more than 1,100 Indonesian citizens have been repatriated since 2023 due to conflicts in a number of regions. However, since 2021, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recorded more than 3,400 cases of Indonesian citizens caught in online fraud; 40% of which were related to human trafficking. 

Besides the complexity of the challenges, Minister Retno also conveyed  the importance of strengthening collaboration among all parties and taking  experience as the best teacher. Therefore, at this event, she launched a book entitled "Presenting the Country to the End of the World", containing reflections on the HWPA awards over the last eight years. (VOI/Rama-Mar/AF/Rahmana)

Jakarta, VOI News :  Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Hadi Tjahjanto, has asked the chief of Air Force Staff (KSAU), Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono, to prepare the necessary defense equipment for carrying out weather modification.

"The Java and East Nusa Tenggara Islands will continue to experience the dry season followed by La Nina until September. La Nina is not finished yet, so the Air Force needs to immediately prepare the defense equipment for weather modification," the minister said at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base on Friday.

He explained that the defense equipment that would need to be deployed are airplanes belonging to the Air Force that have been modified with a weather control device.

Weather modification will be carried out to prevent extreme drought that could potentially trigger forest fires in some areas, the minister said.

He added that it could also reduce excessively heavy rainfall.

However, he did not provide further details on the tools and the number of aircraft that would be deployed to modify the weather.

He expressed the hope that the effort would directly minimize natural disaster impacts due to weather dynamics.

Weather modification involves spreading salt in large quantities in the air.

The Indonesian Air Force also applied this technology in early 2023. At the time, it used the CN-295 aircraft from the Weather Modification Technology Post at Adisoemarmo Air Force Base, Solo, Central Java, to spread 13,530 kilograms of salt.

On a separate occasion, chairperson of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Bambang Soesatyo, asked the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to be ready to provide assistance to East Nusa Tenggara province.

The region has a high potential to experience five-meter high waves until April 8, 2024, as forecast by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). (ANTARA)

Jakarta, VOI News : Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta,  Indonesia represented by Religious Attaché,  Syaikh Ahmad Isya Al Hazimi  visited the head office of RRI on Friday (5/4)  to attend the prize giving ceremony Umrah for the winners of the 54th RRI Quran Tilawatil Week  2024 of  the disability category.

In his speech, Shaykh Ahmad Isya Al Hazimi felt honored to be able to contribute to the 54th RRI Quran Tilawatil Week  activities by providing Umrah package prizes for 4 winners from the male and female categories. The Umrah trip prize is sponsored by two philanthropic foundations in Saudi Arabia, namely the Hambali Social Foundation and the Masith Aris Foundation.

“The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Religion, represented by  the Religious Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy, is pleased with the opportunity given  to contribute to this extraordinary musabaqah event  in which  the participants are people we really care about, namely those who are blind. The event is  supported by 2 social foundations in Saudi Arabia,  namely the Hambali Foundation and the Masith Aris Foundation that  provided donations for Umrah departures for 4 winners  through the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Religion in Riyadh which is  represented by the Religious Attaché Embassy,” Syaikh Ahmad Isya conveyed.

Moreover, four participants at the the 54th RRI Quran Tilawatil Week  2024 for  the disability category who received Umrah prizes from the Saudi Arabian Embassy are 1st and 2nd place in the men's category,  Ahmad Yasir from Denpasar Bali and Gusnanda from Pekanbaru Riau Province. The 1st and 2nd place in the women's category are Andini Putri Melati from Palembang South Sumatra and Shinta Wulan from Medan North Sumatra. (Daniel/nrl/AF/Rahmana)

VOINews, Jakarta : Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had approved the proposal of flight information region (FIR) takeover from Singapore to Indonesia.

"Singapore used to have control over the air space above the Riau and Natuna Islands at an altitude of 0-37 thousand feet," the minister remarked on Saturday.

Pandjaitan spoke of having received this report while undergoing health recovery in Singapore on January 11, 2024.

Furthermore, 60 days after the publication of information regarding these changes, the Indonesian airspace, which had earlier been designated as a Singapore FIR, completely returned as an Indonesian FIR.

With the official implementation of the transfer of the Singapore FIR to the Indonesian FIR, Pandjaitan stated that the government's policy regarding aviation services will make Indonesia's air space safer, more competitive, and attractive for the civil aviation industry.

"We hope that the management of Indonesian air space that is safe, effective, in line with national interests, and meets international civil aviation service standards can be achieved," he remarked.

Apart from the FIR agreement, he noted that the defense cooperation and fugitive extradition agreement between Indonesia and Singapore were also implemented.

"This is important, considering that those issues are bilateral issues that have not been resolved between the two countries for a long time," he remarked.

He stated that the diplomatic approach of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long facilitated the establishment of the agreement.

However, he reminded that the agreement should not put aside national interests.

Based on President Widodo's directions, Pandjaitan had also partaken in establishing sound communication with Singapore Senior Minister Teo Che Hean.

"All steps were taken to prioritize strengthening bilateral relations and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries," he emphasized. (Antara)