VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Last Wednesday (25/11), two Bahraini ships were accused of violating Qatari waters and causing protests from the country. While the Bahraini party considers that its ships have been intercepted and treated improperly by Bahrain.

The claims and expressions of both Qatar and Bahrain cannot be separated from the tensions that have occurred between the Gulf countries recently. There is even a concern that the incident at sea will worsen the situation. Qatar, which since 2017 has been boycotted by Arab countries due to its closeness to   Iran, seems to yet have to wait for diplomatic relations with these countries to improve. The signal of peace actually appeared after the signing of normalization of relations with Israel by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain facilitated by the United States. On one hand, Qatar, which decided to support Palestine, hopes to close its tenuous relationship with Saudi Arabia, which also supports Palestine. The situation is complicated because on the other hand, Saudi Arabia is known to have strong economic and investment ties with the United States. Qatar itself hopes that the boycott it has felt since 2017 can end sooner.

But with the incident of the Bahraini ships being accused of illegally entering Qatar, it seems that the communication of the Gulf countries is not yet harmonious. The suspicions and worries are still quite strong. Seven Arab countries, namely Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had all been hit hard on the economy due to the Covid19 pandemic. However, with the increase in non-oil income, these countries, especially Saudi Arabia, have become more stable at this time.

Of course, the cohesiveness of fellow countries is needed to get through the crisis due to the pandemic and diplomatic relations with parties outside this group, whether it's Iran, or the United States. Unfortunately, with the incident of the Bahraini ships being accused of entering Qatar's territory, it seems that tensions between the Gulf countries will not end soon.

The lecturer team from the Department of Visual Communication Design (DKV) Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) succeeded in creating a card game with the theme of Covid-19 prevention called ‘Palagan’. The name Palagan in this game means battle in Sanskrit. This name was chosen because it likens the ongoing condition to a battle against something that was never known before, namely the Corona virus. The game was inspired by a similar card game, namely Phil Walker-Harding's "Sushi Go Party" which was released in 2016. Palagan has 79 cards of various types, such as event cards, sports cards, protection cards, protocol cards, balanced nutrition cards, kindness cards, and danger cards. In all of these cards, there is a description in the form of education on the prevention of Covid-19 transmission according to the type of activity.

Palagan involves two to five players and has duration of approximately 30 minutes. The game begins with separating the event card from the other cards and placing it face down in the middle of the area. Afterwards, one of the players can distribute eight cards to each of the other players. Then, one of the players can open one face-up event card. After that all players choose one of the cards they have and place it in front of them. Next, players give all unselected cards to each other in a clockwise direction.

Apart from producing game cards, Palagan can be downloaded for free via the Google Playstore. This application can be useful for clarifying the brief description on the card. It is hoped that in the future, the application will not only be able to issue a description but also be able to play the game digitally. Currently, there are more than 800 first printed Palagan card games ready to be donated to the public. Deputy Governor of East Java Province, Emil Elestianto Dardak, who was also present at the release event, welcomed this game as a learning medium for the community.

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the Radio. We introduce some Indonesian vocabulary and tips on how to use it in a conversation. This segment is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language and Book Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is ‘Anak Tunggal’ (Single Child).

Read to this conversation about‘Anak Tunggal’ in English (Single Child). Kevin asks how many children Pak Hasan has (Rama’s father).

Now, I am going to introduce some vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today.

If you want to ask how many children someone has, you can use a sentence Kalau boleh tahu, berapa jumlah anak Anda? Which means  ‘May I know, how many children do you have?’. If you want to ask about someone's family member, you can use a sentence Berapa jumlah saudara Anda? Which means ‘How many brothers/sisters do you have?’ or  Apakah Anda punya Adik atau kakak? Which means ‘Do you have younger brothers/sisters?’.

Let’s follow the examples:

Kevin: Kalau boleh tahu, berapa jumlah anak Bapak? May I know, how many children do you have?

Rama’s father:  Anak saya hanya satu, Si Rama which means ‘I have only one child, Rama’

Kevin: O, jadi Rama anak semata wayang ya, Pak? Which means ‘I see, Rama is a single child, right?

Kevin         : Rama, berapa jumlah saudaramu? Which means ‘Rama, how many brothers and sisters do you have?’

Rama: Aku tidak punya saudara which means ‘I have no brother/sister’.

Kevin         : O, jadi kamu anak tunggal ya which means ‘I see, you are a single child, right’.

In the Indonesian language the word si (si Rama), is an article which is used as personal pronouns or nouns. While the meaning of idioms anak semata wayang has the same meaning with anak tunggal which means ‘single child’.

That was “Let’s Speak Bhs Indonesia”, a lesson in Bahasa Indonesia or the Indonesian language on the radio. Hopefully, this edition will be useful for those who want to know more about Bahasa Indonesia

One of Indonesia's destinations that is currently attracting tourists' attention is Labengki Island in Southeast Sulawesi. The beauty of this hidden island is said to be similar to Raja Ampat. So, many people mention Labengki Island as the Raja Ampat of Sulawesi.This island has hills and small islands which are almost the same as Wayag Island in Raja Ampat, Papua. Besides its beauty above the water which is presented by this beautiful island, Labengki Island’s beautiful underwater is also amazing. Various marine biotas are found here and their naturalness is still maintained. In the waters of this island; there are many very classy diving spots and habitats for species of Kima or Giant Shells which can reach a size of about 50 cm that are recorded as the second largest Kima in the world. The waters is also a place for researchers, conservation and captivity of Kima.

Apart from exploring the islands, diving or snorkeling in Labengki, you can also fish here. You can find various types of fish such as Barracuda, Grouper, Yellowfin Tuna, Red Snapper or Sailfish. After fishing, if you have plans to cook for yourself, don't forget to bring spices because there are no food stalls on this island. On Labengki Island, there are also white sandy beaches and shady coconut trees that you can use as a place to take a break. You can also climb to the hill to see the beauty of Teluk Cinta that has shaped like heart. On the hill,you can take pictures with Teluk Cinta as a background which is very instagramable.

Labengki Island is administratively included in the North Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. It can be accessed from Kendari City, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi Province and you can go by motor vehicles for about 1 hour to the Toli-Toli area, Konawe Regency. From Toli-Toli, you have to continue the journey by boat for about 3 hours to arrive at Labengki Island. The facilities on Labengki Island are incomplete. Usually, to take a shower or rinse yourself and stay overnight, you can do it at the Conservation Team Post or set up a tent around the island. Hopefully, this tourism destination is appropriate for you if you have adventurous spirit.