VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The ongoing demonstrations in Paris that   triggered riots have become a test point for the credibility and continuation of French President Emmanuel Macron administration. The protests, which took place every Saturday, ended with riots spreading into a movement to bring down President Macron. The action known as the mass action of the Yellow Vest last Saturday caused 92 people including police officers injured in the riots. It  was originally started by residents of the suburbs of Paris who protested the government's decision to increase the price of fuel oil and taxes. It then   turned into chaos. Middle class citizens who are worried about Macron's policies, joined in  and made a wave of demonstrations and demanded  Macron to step down. The pressure of the protesters caused Prime Minister Edouard Philippe meet up  with two representatives of the protesters. However, he  failed to stop the next demonstration which was followed by even more citizens of Paris and its surroundings. According to some  polls 72 percent citizens  support the Yellow Vest. However, 90 percent of  French people   rejected acts of violence. President Emanuel Macron has demanded legal responsibility of the demonstrators due to riots that occurred and caused damage. In fact, President Macron had succumbed to revoking his policy by delaying the fuel tax increase which resulted in rising fuel prices throughout France. Nevertheless the demonstration resumed with the demand for the resignation of Macron who has been in office for  for just 18 months. For the President of France who is the youngest head of state in French history, this wave of demonstrations is a test of his policy and continuity of government. Whether the demonstrations in France,  which are  the biggest and worst ever,  will be the trigger for a  political movement  that will determine the end of Macron's government, remain  to be seen. Macron's failure to overcome this political crisis will show whether the youngest President in the French history, will also be the shortest-serving President due to his policies which caused massive demonstrations or not.

A multipurpose guesthouse to accommodate children of Suku Anak Dalam in Musi District, North Rawas, South Sumatra was claimed to be the first educational complex for Remote Indigenous Communities in Indonesia.  This was stated by Head of the North Musi Rawas (Muratara) Social Service, Zainal Arifin in Muara Rupit last Thursday (6/12). He said that the , the multipurpose guesthouse as a special educational park complex for the children of Suku Anak Dalam (SAD) is located in Rupit Sub-District, Muratara Regency. He further remarked that there are 216 SAD children who accommodate the multipurpose guesthouse. They go to school free of charge and they are paid by the Muratara government through the Social Service under the guidance of professional educators. Zainal Arifin added that the inauguration of the multipurpose guesthouse was marked by the shaving hair of the SAD children which was symbolically carried out by Regent of Muratara, Syarif Hidayat accompanied by Chairman of the Muratara PKK Driving Team, Lia Mustika Syarif.

Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman said that his side would develop 200,000 swamp rice fields in South Sumatra, which is equipped with a modern agricultural model to improve the welfare of local farmers. After the Coordination Meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture in Palembang, South Sumatra on last Thursday (13/12), he said that the farmers who are assisted in the program entitled "Saving the Swamp of Farmers' Prosperity" (Serasi) have potential to increase their income threefold. The development of the program is targeted to reach 500,000 hectares in the Banyuasin Regency, Ogan Ilir, and Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI). Minister Andi also explained that the increase in income could occur because there would be an increase in production, land productivity and harvesting intensity from one to two or three times. To support the optimization of swamp rice fields, the Ministry of Agriculture has provided various assistance in the forms of infrastructures and facilities, advice, and agricultural machinery.

Hundreds of Jaipong dancers in various studios throughout West Java participated in the West Java Pasanggiri Rampak Jaipong, which won a total prize of Rp37 million. The Jaipong dancing was held at Cikole Lembang, West Bandung last Saturday (8/12). Chairperson of the Pasanggiri Rampak Jaipong Committee, Irwan Dustirawansyah said that the implementation of the Pasanggiri Rampak Jaipong was based on fears of further extinction of Sundanese cultural arts, especially Jaipong in the West Java community in general, especially among the millennial generations today. Irwan viewed that even though the implementation of the Pasanggiri Rampak Jaipong at the West Java level was held for the first time, the enthusiasm of the Jaipong artists throughout West Java was quite high. The number of participants reached around 400 people.

Marriott Hotel County Hall, one of iconic hotels in center city of London became a place for 9 Indonesian entrepreneurs to market Indonesian organic products on December 7, 2018. Those products were organic honey, cassava, coffee, rice and noodle. Indonesian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Rizal Sukma in his speech conveyed that people in England, as many countries in the world, have high awareness to switch into organic foods. The exhibition was packaged by presenting a cooking demo by Executive Sous Chef Marriott Hotel County Hall, Budiono and talk show which was hosted by marketing expert in the field of hospitality Tracey Howes. Attending as speakers were nutritionists, Vita Dikaryanto, Chef Budiono and Helianti Hilman, CEO Javara. More than 200 visitors flocked the exhibition room. The visitors were from various communities, beginning from organic products’ lovers, food blogger, restaurant entrepreneurs, association of organic foods and food distributors in England. They gave positive response on the first single exhibition of Indonesian organic products.

Foreign Affairs Ministry cooperated with Agriculture Ministry sent 2 agricultural experts to Myanmar to provide quality improvement in agricultural field. The training starts from December 7—10, 2018.The training is aimed to increase Indonesian contribution in encouraging sustainable development goals. The training had a title “Dispatch Expert on Agriculture for Myanmar” that is held in Hlegu Township, Yangon, Myanmar and officially opened by the Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar, Prof. Dr. Iza Fadri at Central Agricultural Research and Training Center (CARTC). In his speech, the Ambassador conveyed in Yangon a number of points such as the program of sending experts to  Myanmar which becomes one of efforts of the Indonesian government to assist the government of Myanmar by increasing its capacity in agricultural field. Meanwhile, Director of Regional Yangon on Agriculture Ministry, husbandry and Irrigation of Myanmar, U Kyaw Kyaw expressed that the training is rightly conducted in Myanmar, reminding Myanmar has requirement to increase quality of fruit and vegetable products. Hopefully, through the program, besides being able to increase capacity of its farmers, Myanmar can also share information with the experts.

Vice president Jusuf Kalla received Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Government Leadership from the 4th World Muslim Leadership Forum in London. The award was received by daughter of the Vice president, Muchlisah Jusuf Kalla representing his father, Jusuf Kalla. When receiving the award, Muchlisah Jusuf Kalla expressed gratitude to the committee and read short speech by saying the importance Muslim Leadership throughout the world to pay attention to education, development and peace problem. She also said the three factors are very important in developing people’s welfare. The 4th conference held on December 6-7, 2018 to discuss various problems faced by Muslims like straightening various misperceptions on the Islamic society. Thus, to formulate a global mechanism, Moslems’ leadership can be used throughout the world for collaboration to give contribution for the future peaceful world.

Mepar island is located in Riau Islands province. The island has not only beautiful scenery, but also historical sites. Mepar island is at the South of Lingga island. Administratively, the island is at Mepar village, Lingga district, Riau Island province. Mepar island is well-known for its tourism history. One of them is  4 fortresses of heritage of Riau-Lingga Kingdom. The 4 fortresses are Hilir fortress, Lekok fortress, Tanjung Segi Tiga fortress and Tengah fortress. Lekok fortress is located on the hill and it directly faces with Buton bay which is at Lingga island and it is equipped with 7 canons. Unfortunately, those fortresses are damaged and overgrown with wild plants. However, some visitors are still interested to visit it. Besides there are some historical sites, the local people, who live on Mepar island, also become interesting attraction of this island. Until now, they still preserve shelter of Tanah Bunda Melayu. Every tourist who comes to this island, does not need to rent lodging because the local people will be pleased to be visited by tourist who wants to stay at night on Mepar island. Because, Mepar island’s residents preserve their heritage “adoptive parents” meaning every visitor who comes to their village, is their kid who needs shelter. To reach Mepar island from Batam Bintan island or Jagoh Dabo, we can use sea transportation at Singkep seaport on Singkep island every day . Thus, visitor must continue the trip by using speed boat to Mepar island. It takes around 30 minutes.