VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The World Bank in the World Bank Country Classifications by Income Level: 2021-2022 reports that Indonesia is back to a lower middle-income country category after being included in the upper middle-income country category in 2019. Indonesia's per capita income fell from US$4,050 in 2019 to US$3,870 in 2020.

According to the Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency of the Ministry of Finance, Febrio Kacaribu, the health crisis has had a profound impact on social life and global economic activity. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about negative economic growth in almost all countries, including Indonesia. That’s why, the decline in Indonesia's income is an unavoidable consequence.

Then, what is the government doing to boost the economy? Amid the pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government continues to consistently roll out policies that are focused on efforts to deal with it by strengthening social protection, supporting the business world, including establishing the National Economic Recovery program. Through hard work, the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget and the program, many great benefits have been felt by the community. The National Economic Recovery social protection program is claimed to be effective in maintaining the consumption of the poorest community groups amid the pandemic.

The poverty rate could be controlled to 10.19 percent in September 2020. Without the National Economic Recovery program, the World Bank estimates that Indonesia's poverty rate in 2020 could reach 11.8 percent. This means that the program in 2020 was able to save more than 5 million people from poverty. Furthermore, it is also the engine of economic recovery so that it was able to create 2.61 million new jobs in the period September 2020 to February 2021.

Until now, the pandemic is still ongoing. However, the government continues to work hard and never gives up facing this condition. The increase in daily Covid-19 cases since the end of June was responded quickly with tighter activity restrictions. Acceleration of vaccines, strengthening 3Ts or testing, tracing, and treatment, discipline of health protocols and provision of social protection will continue to be carried out.

Hopefully, the various steps taken by the government to tightly control the pandemic and to recover the economy will raise Indonesia's status back to the category of upper middle-income country. For the record, the classification is usually made by a financial institution or an international donor agency to consider financial assistance facilities for each country.

The Directorate General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia in collaboration with the Titimangsa Foundation initiated a performance entitled 'Taksu Ubud'. Ubud City, which is located in the middle of the island of Bali, is famous as a tourism spot and the center of Balinese culture. Taksu Ubud' is an art performance of drama, dance and music featuring Ubud as a Balinese traditional guard. Through a simple story, 'Taksu Ubud' presents the beauty of Ubud art. Almost all Ubud people live close to customs and traditions. During the day, they work as farmers, traders, and teachers. At night, they live as performers of the arts in Ubud. The income they generate from their daily work is returned for custom development.

'Taksu Ubud' features dance, percussion and Kidung. The show involved many groups of dancers and musicians, such as Gamelan Yuganada, Bumi Bajra Sandhi Foundation, Kertha Art Performance, Sanggar Cudamani, Ubud Performing Art, Napak Tuju, Swaradanta and the Janahita Mandala Ubud Foundation. In addition, 'Taksu Ubud' also features many senior Balinese artists who have worked for decades with full dedication to art and cultural development. Taksu Ubud' also highlights prominent Indonesian actors, namely Reza Rahadian and Christine Hakim.

Taksu Ubud tells the story of a young Ubud man, Umbara, who since childhood has lived far from Ubud and his mother. It was time for the mother to ask Umbara to return to Ubud. Immediately, Umbara faced a dilemma. Should he leave the comfort and convenience he got while overseas for the love of his mother and Ubud, an ancestral place that is foreign to him? Taksu Ubud' can be enjoyed online from 6 July 2021 to 12 July 2021.

To encourage and develop cooperation in the fields of science and technology, the Indonesian Embassy in Tehran visited the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council on Monday (28/6). On the occasion, Indonesian Ambassador to Iran, Ronny P. Yuliantoro met Secretary General of the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council, Saeed Sarkar. They discussed the development and follow-up cooperation between  Indonesia and Iran  in the field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology and medical devices as well as the development of human resources in the field of nanotechnology.

Indonesia and Iran have signed a technical arrangement agreement between the Indonesian Ministry of Health and the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council on the development of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and stem cell products on the sidelines of the former Indonesian Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto's visit to Tehran on September 15, 2019. In March 2020, they agreed to expand cooperation in promoting joint investment in artificial intelligence, high-tech medical devices, and health care facilities.

One of the concrete collaborations of both countries is the development of a Robotic Surgery Center in Indonesia, which is currently being processed. Iran's nanotechnology sector has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. Based on the number of publications of International Scientific Indexing, Iran is the country with the 4th most publications in the world with 12,190 International Scientific Indexing publications in 2020.

Besides, Ambassador Ronny hopes that the cooperation between Indonesia and Iran in the field of nanotechnology will be directed on human resource development, through joint research collaborations, teaching staff and researchers’ exchanges, as well as organizing seminars and workshops in the future.

China doesn't seem to be playing around in its statements regarding its conflict with Taiwan. The Associated Press news agency reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also heads the Central Military Commission, emphasized the need for the People's Liberation Army to increase troop capabilities in the dispute with Taiwan. These concerns are not only active soldiers but also retired military personnel. They are said to be a top priority for military service in times of war. This is stipulated in a draft law change released by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs over the weekend.

Conscription under Chinese law applies to citizens aged 18 to 22. They are required to undergo one-month training in military service but are not required to become professional soldiers afterward. In fact, since 1949 it has practically no longer been implemented because the number of soldiers who voluntarily enlist is considered sufficient. But the question is that how serious the situation is, so that there is a need for a revision of the law requiring veterans to be involved in wartime.

Former instructor of People's Liberation Army, Song Zhongping said that revisions are needed to reflect broader changes in the world and to better prepare China for emergencies.

The country's military must be "ready to respond" to complex and difficult situations when faced with security challenges. Moreover, recently, China's relations with Western countries and its neighbors have deteriorated due to various problems, ranging from territorial claims, the economy to human rights.