VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Corona pandemic due to Covid 19 virus affects not only the economic sector but also the political sector. In Central America, Covid-19 attack has triggered a wave of protests in Cuba. Havana, the capital of the communist-leaning nation, was flooded with protesters. Thousands of protesters moved on Sunday, July 12, 2021 as they considered the Cuban government failed to control Covid 19 which has worsened economic life in the country. A news agency report said that during the demonstration the protesters called for President Miguel Diaz to step down from the office. There have been several public demonstrations this year. But Sunday's demonstration was reportedly the largest one, even since 1994.

The government not only called for the demonstration to be stopped, but according to the French news agency AFP as quoted by CNN Indonesia, Cuban police officers detained more than a hundred protesters. One person is reported to have died in the riots as a result of the demonstration. Regarding the demonstrations that caused chaos, President Miguel Dias blamed the United States' policy of carrying out an economic embargo on his country.

As people know that during the Donald Trump administration, Washington reimposed a stricter embargo on Cuba. Previously, under the administration of President Barack Obama had relaxed sanctions on his southern neighbor. Economic sanction in the form of trade embargo has been implemented by the United States since 1962 during the John Kennedy administration. The sanction was imposed to protest the overthrow of President Fulgencio Balista by Communist rebels led by Fidel Castro in an event historically known as the Cuban Revolution.

The demonstration on Sunday, July 14, resulted in the escalation of diplomatic relations with the United States. The Spanish government through its Foreign Ministry has asked Havana to respect the freedom of expression of its people. The stance of the Spanish government was caused by the arrest of a correspondent for a Spanish daily newspaper. The government in Madrid asked the Cuban government to release the correspondent.

Although the Cuban government has tried and quelled public demonstrations, it is still uncertain whether the handling by security forces which is followed by the detention of protesters will end the demonstrations. The stance of the United States, which was expressed by President Joe Bidden by stating that he supports the actions of some Cubans, becomes a political sign that the economic embargo will not end yet. Meanwhile, Covid-19 attack which has caused a decline in the number of foreign tourists to Cuba has worsened the economic situation.

The Temasek Foundation and 15 Indonesian and Singaporean companies showed a sense of concern and brotherhood again by donating medical equipment in the form of Oxygen Concentrators (OC) for the handling of Covid-19 in Indonesia. Until July 13, 2021, they have collected 11,000 Oxygen Concentrators for Indonesia. A total of 1,500 units of the aid were dispatched from Shanghai to Jakarta on Tuesday (13/7). These Oxygen Concentrators assistance is addressed to the Indonesian Ministry of Health which will then be sent to various hospitals and other health facilities in Indonesia. Subsequent deliveries are planned in stages every week.

There are also 15 Indonesian and Singaporean companies collaborating with the Temasek Foundation in providing donations this time. They are Bakti Barito Foundation, Cikarang Listrindo, East Ventures, Indies Capital Partners, Tanoto Foundation, Triputra Group, UID Foundation, Wahana Artha, CapitaLand Hope Foundation, DBS Bank, dan Singtel.

Chairperson of the Temasek International Foundation, Jennie Chua said that the emergence of a new type of Covid-19 virus that is more contagious requires the fast cooperation and support of all parties, both in Indonesia and Singapore, in overcoming this pandemic.  The Temasek Foundation and the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore facilitated the cooperation and collaboration of these various parties.

The Oxygen Concentrators assistance is expected to be able to assist efforts in a bid to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia, as well as reflecting the good relations and close friendship between Indonesia and Singapore. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore has collaborated with the Temasek Foundation to distribute some assistance for handling Covid-19 in Indonesia.

Mountain peak tourism parks are trending in Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan. One of which is Mount Lonceng Tourism. The new tourism destination is located at Mount Lonceng on Jalan Dwikora RT 17 Mangkupalas, Samarinda Seberang. The area of Mount Lonceng Tourism is about 4.5 hectares. It’s not a complicated access to this tourism location. From the main road to Mount Lonceng, tour is about 500 meters. The parking area is quite large, you can pay a parking fee per vehicle of three thousand rupiah. Entering the tourism area is charged five thousand rupiah per person.

Besides having a beautiful view, Mount Lonceng has historical value. During the colonial period, this mountain was used as a place for indigenous fighters to spy on immigrants, either enemies or the arrival of merchant ships entering Samarinda via the Mahakam River. On top of this mountain is placed a very large bell.  The bell will ring as a signal. This big bell is what makes the local people call it the Lonceng or Bell mountain. Mount Lonceng Tourism has been open to the public since February 2020. Before becoming a tourism spot, Mount Lonceng was a stretch of land with various types of plants and where various telecommunication transmitters and television stations were built. Previously, there were two local youths, who wanted to turn this mountain area into an agricultural area but they were unsuccessful. Then, both of them saw the potential of the mountain to become an interesting area to see natural charm with the background of Samarinda City and the Mahakam River. Finally, they made the Mount Lonceng area as a tourism spot via Instagramable

To add to the attraction for taking selfies at Mount Lonceng, 5 facilities have been built in the shape of a boat, giant hands, giant bird's nest, swings, heart-shaped symbols, and giant arrows. On weekends, 1,000-1,500 visitors come to visit.  Even though it is crowded with tourists, during the pandemic, health protocols are still applied. Visitors who enter the Lonceng Mountain Tourism area must wear masks. In addition to being crowded in the morning until noon, Mount Lonceng tourism is also crowded in the afternoon and evening. Because at night, tourists can see the sparkling lights and the beauty of Samarinda City.

Voice of Indonesia presents Let’s Speak Indonesian, a program that introduces the Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the language. Mari Berbahasa Indonesia or Let’s Speak Indonesian is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is still about Kesehatan which means Health.

Here is the conversation entitled Katanya Akan Kerja Dari Rumah-KDR which means They Say We Will Work from Home-WFH. This dialog is between Kevin and Mela. Mela tells Kevin about the news circulating in the office. Let’s read to the conversation.

After listening to the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of the day.

In the dialog, you listen to an expression Katanya kita akan KDR mulai minggu depan (2x) which means They say we will WFH next week. In the expression, there is the word katanya (2x) which means they say. It is used to deliver someone else’s statement. It means the same as kata dia (2x) which means he says. However, in daily speech it is also used to deliver information from one person to another with unknown main source. For example, Katanya kita akan KDR mulai minggu depan(2x) which means They say we will WFH next week. Maybe Mela heard the information from some people, but she doesn’t know who spread the information first and she doesn’t know if the information is right or wrong.

Let’s read to the other examples of using the word katanya (2x) which means they say.

Mela  : Katanya kita akan uji usap PCR minggu depan (2x) which means They say we will have swab test next week

Kevin : Oh, ya? (2x) which means Oh really?

Mela  : Katanya atasan kita terkena Covid-19 (2x) which means They say our boss gets Covid-19

Kevin : Oh, ya? (2x) which means Oh really?

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian” for today. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those of you who want to know more about Indonesian language.