VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Lombok is an island that is a favourite tourism spot for domestic and foreign tourists. Although most of the inhabitants of this island are Muslims, they can live side by side with non-Muslims harmoniously. Because, the religious tolerance in Lombok is very strong. This proves that there are some places of worship for people of other religions besides Islam, such as Pura Lingsar. 

Lingsar Temple is located in Lingsar Village, Narmada District, West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara -NTB. To go to the temple, you can use public transportation from Bertais terminal in the downtown to Narmada, then heading to Pura Lingsar. In this temple, there are 9 sacred water fountains as a symbol of the representatives of Walisongo. Walisongo means 9 people who spread Islam on the island of Java. This water is used by Muslims for ablution. People say, the water from this shower is also believed to bring about blessing, success and happiness. 

Pura Lingsar is a combination of two religions: Hinduism and Islam. Because it contains a pavilion and a prayer room as a place of worship for Muslims. This temple was built by King Anak Agung Ketut Karangasam as a symbol of unifying the people of Lombok in 1741 and it is considered the holiest temple in Lombok. In this temple, booth followers of Hinduism and Islam worship together, especially the Muslims of the Sasak tribe. To continue to tighten the relationship between the followers of Hinduism and Islam, Pura Lingsar still holds ceremonies involving both religions. The ceremony is the War of Topat. In this ceremony, Muslims and Hindus will throw Ketupat at each other. This is a form of gratitude for the harmony that has existed so far and the abundant fortune. Ketupat is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled. 

To increase the promotion of Indonesian culture, especially in the culinary field, the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, the Philippines in collaboration with Colegio San Antonio-Bacolod City, held 'Culinary Tourism: Modern Indonesian Cuisine'. This event was broadcast live on Wednesday (28/4). Indonesian Chef, Untung Taurat demonstrated how to cook chicken Opor and fried banana. This activity was attended by students majoring in tourism and hospitality management from Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod City virtually, through the Youtube channel of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. Acting Dean of the Faculty of Accounting, Business, Education and Computers Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod City, Airyn Apale appreciated this activity. According to Airyn, live cooking is very beneficial for students considering that culinary tourism is an important aspect of tourism education and Hospitality Management, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In commemoration of the International Creative Economy year, the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo signed a Creative Economy Cooperation Agreement with a Japanese creative economy company, Creek and River Co., Ltd. The signing of the Indonesia-Japan cooperation agreement was carried out on the side-lines of the Japan-Indonesia Virtual Conference on Creative Economy in Japan, last Wednesday (28/4). At the same time, this event enlivened the International Creative Economy Year for Sustainable Development which was initiated by Indonesia and ratified by the United Nations through resolution No. 74/198. Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi explained that this agreement would become an umbrella for more intensive partnership and collaboration between Japan and Indonesia. According to Heri Akhmadi, this initiative effort is one of the concrete efforts of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo to contribute to accelerating national and global economic recovery amid the pandemic.

2022 will be the key year for Indonesia to accelerate its economic recovery and growth. This was affirmed by Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency, Suharso Monoarfa at the 2022 Central Development Coordination Meeting, Thursday (29/4). According to Minister Suharso, this is in line with the projection of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and several other international institutions that Indonesia's economic recovery will accelerate in 2022. The government is targeting Indonesia's economic growth to reach 5.4 to 6 percent next year.

Minister Suharso also said that 2022 will become a momentum to evaluate performance, especially in the national health system, which during the Covid-19 pandemic showed vulnerabilities, such as inadequate prevention, health facilities, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices that are not optimal. The capacity of health workers is still low and utilization of health financing is inefficient.

Therefore, in 2022, Indonesia has to keep strengthening health system reform by increasing health security and resilience, ensuring access to the availability of health services, encouraging community participation and increasing promotional and preventive efforts. In addition, the government will also strengthen structural reforms, followed by reforms in the fields of social protection, education and skills, as well as the health sector. Economic growth will also be supported by a recovery in purchasing power or household consumption and improving performance in the business world. This will be carried out through various crisis reduction efforts, including the health crisis with the Covid-19 vaccination program.

Although there is no clear timeline, Indonesia has set a number of scenarios to achieve a low-carbon development or net zero emission. Thereby, there is a need for synergy or connectivity between sectors. Director of Environment at the Ministry of National Planning and Development / National Planning and Development Agency, Medrilzam said that low-carbon development has been included in the 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan and has become one of the priority programs. This was revealed in a webinar entitled "Indonesia's Opportunity to Achieve Carbon Neutrality Before 2070" on Wednesday (28/4).

Based on a study conducted by the National Planning and Development Agency, the calculation of the zero-emission scenario must refer to a number of principles. For instance, zero emission policies must be in line with the targets in Indonesia's 2045 vision, while still pursuing emission reductions by 29 percent in 2030. In addition, the approach taken must be comprehensive across sectors.

Estimates of greenhouse gases in the land and energy sectors for zero-emission policies from 2045 to 2070 have also been calculated. This requires an additional area of 300-350,000 hectares per year and an increase in the reforestation of 250 hectares from the existing policy. Meanwhile, in the energy sector, this is carried out through the use of new renewable energy accompanied by an increase in energy efficiency to reach 6-6.5 percent in 2050. In addition, efforts to reduce waste are also being carried out starting from the circular economy through the efficiency of natural resources to reducing the production of liquid waste. On the fiscal aspect, the   elimination of fuel subsidies and application of a carbon tax are needed.

So far, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector has been on target and will be increased to achieve the national contribution target of reducing emissions by 29 percent by 2030. The main contribution of mitigation actions is the new renewable energy program and energy efficiency. However, efforts to increase it are still constrained by investment costs which tend to be expensive and lack of mastery of technology.

Whatever the reasons are, Indonesia must continue to pursue the target as set out in the Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as the Paris Agreement in December 2015. If this is not achieved, it will certainly have a negative impact on Indonesia, such as increasing temperatures, changes in rainfall, and rising sea levels. Indonesia will also be hit by extreme waves that increase by more than 1.5 meters.

To realize the scenario created by the government, each individual can contribute by reducing the use of fossil energy, reducing land and garbage burning, and replanting trees. If this is done, it is possible that Indonesia will be able to realize the national contribution to reducing emissions by 29 percent even before 2030.