VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian government through Indonesian embassy in Harare begins to keep developing cooperation of train revitalization in Zimbabwe and Zambia this year. Indonesian Ambassador to Zimbabwe and Zambia, Dewa M. Juniarta Sastrawan, through Indonesian embassy’s press release which was received in Jakarta on Sunday (18/8) explained that starting 2019, the Indonesian embassy in Harare prioritizes to develop cooperation of revitalization of train cargo in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Ambassador Dewa pointed out that starting this year, the Indonesian embassy in Harare promotes the Indonesian superiority in developing infrastructure connectivity of transportation in Zimbabwe and Zambia to obtain benefit from the implementation agreement of African Continental Free Trade Zone which has been applied by both countries.

This year, there is a difference in commemorating Indonesian Independence at Indonesian embassy in Ankara, Turkey. This is the existence of Indonesian Peace Forces, Garuda 28-K UNIFIL Forces which enlivened the event. Garuda Forces arrived in Mersin port, Turkey by using KRI Sultan Hasanuddin-366 on Sunday (18/8). Besides attending the 74th Indonesian Independence Day ceremony, Garuda Forces also entertained in the event with the title ‘Gebyar Kemerdekaan’. This was attended by around 500 Indonesian citizens and various Indonesian partners. The presence of the Special Forces was also welcomed with flowers by Indonesian citizens in Turkey, who wore archipelagic traditional clothes. Some members of Garuda Forces participated in entertaining Indonesian people who were present. One of them is musical performance by  "The Armed Forces Band". There were also members of Forces who showed traditional dances, such as A Saman and Rampak Kendang dance.

In the midst of limitation and condition of security which is not condusive, Indonesian embassy in Baghdad still held flag ceremony to commemorate the 74th Indonesian Independence Day. The ceremony was led by Indonesian Ambassador to Iraq, Bambang Antarikso. All staffs of the Indonesian embassy, Indonesian students from Najaf, Indonesian citizens who work in Baghdad and Iraqi residents also attended the ceremony. Ambassador Bambang said that there was interesting thing in the ceremony in Iraq this year. 2 persons from 3 flag raisers were Iraqi people.  They were Amir, the Indonesian embassy’s staff and Hasan, son of the Indonesian embassy’s staff. According to the ambassador, they admitted being proud because they were elected as flag raisers. This refers close relationship between the Indonesian embassy and its staffs who are Iraqi citizens. For Hasan, it was the first time for him to line up and hoist the flag. As stated by Ambassador Bambang in his statement on Saturday (17/8).

August is a sacred month for the Indonesian people. Seventy-four years ago, precisely on August 17, 1945, the Indonesian people declared their independence, after more than 350 years of colonialism by the Dutch. The independence that has been achieved by the warriors and founders of the nation is certainly not just empty sentences without meaning. In the achieved independence, there is a long history full of endless struggle. History records that Indonesian independence was not easily obtained, especially as a gift. Warriors and founders of the nation were willing to sacrifice their lives and property to achieve independence, free from the occupation of other nations.Independence becomes one of the moments that make all Indonesian people united. Even for hundreds of years, the Indonesian people fought for independence. However, these efforts were less successful because the struggle was regional at the time. As a consequence, the Indonesian people were not united. After the establishment of the organization 'Boedi Oetomo' in 1908 and the holding of the Second Youth Congress which produced the 'Youth Pledge' in 1928, the Indonesian people began to understand the meaning of unity in a bid to gain independence.Now, after 74 years of Indonesian independence, unity and integrity of the nation is absolutely mandatory, especially after the simultaneous general elections in April 2019. At that time, the Indonesian people seemed to be divided into two camps, due to differences in the choice of prospective national leaders. Now, it is the time for the Indonesian people to re-establish the unity. As President Joko Widodo said shortly before the commencement of the Republic of Indonesia's Independence Day Commemoration Ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Saturday (August 17), the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) is above everything. He advised not to sacrifice the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, only because of differences in the choice of leaders such as regents, mayors, governors, and presidents.Hopefully in the 74th anniversary of Indonesian Independence, the Indonesian people will increasingly understand the meaning of unity in a bid to achieve the targeted goal towards ‘Advanced Indonesia’. In the past, the predecessors of the Indonesian nation fought for independence. Now, the Indonesian nation struggles to be able to maintain and fill independence with concrete work towards ‘Advanced Indonesia’.

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the radio, introducing 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 Development and Cultivation Agency at the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. Today’s topic is  ‘Please Have Breakfast, first’  or  Silakan sarapan terlebih dahulu.

Next is a conversation about ‘Please Have Breakfast, first’ or  Silakan sarapan terlebih dahulu. Tony and Joko’s family are travelling to Parangtritis Beach.

Joko           : Ternyata, berselancar itu susah sekali. Saya menyerah

Tony          : Ayolah coba lagi.                                        

Joko           : Tidak. Cukup. Saya cape dan lapar. Ayo, kita makan dengan  

           Dinda dan Endah.                              

Tony          : Kalau begitu kamu duluan saja. Saya masih ingin berselancar.  

                    Nanti saya menyusul ke sana.

After the conversation, now I’ll introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic today. I’ll say each word slowly and twice, you can follow after me.  

- Ternyata berselancar itu susah sekali.         (It turns out that  

                                                                 surfing is very difficult.)     

- Saya menyerah.                                     (I give up.)                                  

- Saya cape dan lapar.                            (I am tired and hungry.)                 

- Ayo, kita makan!                                     (Let us eat!)         

- Kalau begitu kamu duluan saja.                     (So, you may go first.)                 

- Saya masih ingin berselancar.             (I still want to surf.)                       

- Nanti saya menyusul ke sana.             (I’ll go there later.)                          

 In the dialogue, Tony said Kalau begitu kamu duluan saja which means ‘so, please go ahead’. In the Indonesian conversation, the expression ‘kamu duluan saja’ has various meanings, it depends on the context of sentences. Tony’s expression is politely refused with Joko’s invitation because he still wants to surf.  

Now let’s follow other examples : 

Joko : Ayo, kita makan dengan Dinda dan Endah (let’s eat with Dinda and Endah.)

Tony : Kalau begitu kamu duluan saja. Saya masih ingin berselancar (You may go first. I still want to surf.)

Endah        : Ayo, kita pulang! Ini sudah malam (Let’s go home, it is late.)

Tony          : Kamu duluan saja, ya. Aku mau minum kopi dulu (You may go home first. I still want to drink coffee.) 

In another context, the expression is used to invite someone to do something first after him/her. 

For example: 

Kamu duluan saja berangkat ke Jakarta supaya bisa bertemu keluarga (You just go to Jakarta first to meet your  family.)  

But in a formal conversation in Indonesian language, the expression ‘kamu duluan saja’ must be avoided or  cannot be used. You can change with expressions : 

-Bapak bisa berangkat terlebih dahulu. Saya akan menyusul  (You could leaving first, Sir. I will follow then.) 

-Silakan, Ibu sarapan terlebih dahulu (Please have breakfast first, mom!)

Exploring Indonesia is not complete if you do not visit historical heritage such as temple. One of the historical heritages which is not popular for tourist, is Arjuna temple. Arjuna temple was built around 8th century by Sanjaya Dynasty from ancient Mataram. Arjuna temple is one of temples at Arjuna temple complex in Dieng. At the complex, there is also Semar, Srikandi, Puntadewa, and Sembadra temples. Arjuna temple is located at the Northern most of the temple’s complex. Meanwhile, Semar temple is perwara temple or complementary of Arjuna temple. Those two temples face each other. Like temples in general in Dieng, local people named them with the names of puppet figures of Mahabarata. Dieng people who work as potato’s farmers, use the land surrounding the temple. But since 2010 Dieng people have realized the importance of respecting the historical heritages. So, they change the land surrounding the temples to become more beautiful and make it as one of the mainstay tourism destinations of Banjarnegara regency.The change is also marked by the implementation of Dieng Culture Festival that promotes Arjuna temple as the main place forcutting dread ritual or known as wedus gembel. Starting in 2010 Arjuna temple complex is used to develop tourism destination which is managed by Banjarnegara Tourism Office and Tourism Awareness Group. Tourist will not find statues at Arjuna temple, but those statues are stored neatly in Kailasa Museum which is located across the temple’s complex. To maintain the temple is conducted by re-arranged the temples’ stones which collapsed due to the weather that sometimes reaches minus 11 Celsius. The low temperature is caused by the location of the temple which is on the slope of Mt. Perau and Sindoro. The cold air brings thick fog at the surrounding of the temple with visibility ony 10 footsteps. So, if you have a plan to visit Arjuna temple in August or September, please prepare yourself with winter’s equipment.