VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

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 Lingkungan Rumah which means Neighborhood.

Read to the conversation entitled Berapa kali? which means How many times?.This conversation is between Kevin and Boris, his new neighbor. Boris wants to knowhow many times trashman take garbage from his house.

Having listened 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 a question Berapa kali seminggu petugas kebersihan mengangkut sampah? (2x) which means How many times a week the trashman take the garbage? In the question, there is an expression berapa kali?(2x) which means how many times? The question berapa kali?(2x) which means how many times? is used to ask frequency of someone doing something in certain time.  For example, Berapa kali seminggu petugas kebersihan mengangkut sampah? which means How many times a week the trashman take the garbage?

To give information on the frequency of someone doing something, you can answer like what Kevin says in the dialog. Here are the other examples to ask and give information on frequency of someone doing something.

Boris : Berapa kali seminggu petugas kebersihan mengangkut sampah? (2x) which means How many times a week the trashman take the garbage?

Kevin: Tiga kali seminggu (2x) which means three times a week

Boris : Berapa kali seminggu petugas kebersihan mengangkut sampah? (2x) which means How many times a week the trashman take the garbage?

Kevin: Dua kali seminggu (2x) which means twice a week

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. 

Located in the Mount Rinjani area, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Sapit village promises a beautiful view that pleases visitors’ eyes. Above 697 meters above sea level, you can see view of a stunning sunrise. For a long time, tourists have made Sapit village a point to enjoy the sunrise. The beauty of the morning sun is usually used as a tourism attraction starting the New Year after enjoying a year-end party in Lombok. Sapit Village can be reached within two hours by motor vehicles from Mataram City. You will also be greeted by the cool mountain air there. Around this Sapit village, you can visit the Japanese Pal Hill at an altitude of 2,300 meters below sea level.

It was named the Japanese Pal Hill, because there was a pal (marker stone pillar) from the Japanese occupation era. Unfortunately, some time ago, the pal was destroyed due to a misperception as a marker of the location where Japanese heritage was stored. Even though after it was dismantled, there were no assets to be found. Japan Pal Hill is usually crowded with tourists during summer time to see the sunrise and sunset. The location is suitable for tourists who like camping because there is a 2.5-hectare camping ground. You can enjoy the sunrise and sunset on the hill.

Sapit presents a lot of natural beauty. Around Sapit, there are also Lemor baths, Lemor Botanical Gardens and Sebau hot springs. Everything is equipped to meet the traveling needs of the visitors. For example, Sebau hot springs are often visited by tourists who want to take a hot sulfur bath. Tourists who want to go to Sapit village may stay at a number of homestays available. Even though you travell, you still need to follow the set health protocols. So, your vacation will be healthier and more comfortable.

Indonesian and Singaporean governments continued bilateral economic cooperation strengthening through the three “bridges" cooperation. It includes digital bridge, infrastructure bridge, and travel bubble bridge. The travel bubble is opening the boundary zone to allow citizens to cross borders as long as not going beyond certain limits.

Aside from tightening bilateral relations, the cooperation also strengthened the two countries' existence in ASEAN and beyond. That was stated by Economic Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto in an official statement on Friday.

Minister Hartarto said the Indonesia-Singapore digital bridge was expected to realize with Batam as the center for Indonesian data center and digital industry development. 

Previously on March 2, 2021, the Indonesian government had inaugurated the Special Economic Zone Nongsa Digital Park in Batam. The Nongsa Digital Park is expected to be an entry point for international IT companies from Singapore and many other countries as well as to save Indonesian foreign exchange in digital business for around 20 to 30 trillion annually with the biggest contribution from data center and international education.

Then, the infrastructure bridge will begin with the development of Batam-Bintan bridge across 6.4 km in 2022. Later, Batam-Bintan bridge will be divided into three plans namely Batam Island, Tanjungsauh Island, and Bintan Island.

Airlangga said the bridge will ease the business people in Bintan to send their agricultural products to Batam, which will be exported to Singapore or other countries. Also, the Batam-Bintan bridge is expected to increase connectivity from Bintan and Batam to Singapore and vice versa.

Meanwhile, the travel bubble bridge aims to boost the tourism sector with Bintan as a tourism destination for Singaporean visitors. About this, Indonesia and Singapore agreed to form a team discussing the travel bubble between Singapore and Indonesia. The travel bubble will begin with a travel arrangement agreement between Singapore and Batam-Bintan-Karimun areas for business people and tourists. Airlangga Hartarto added, with the travel arrangement, the business people and tourists will be allowed to travel freely around Batam-Bintan-Karimun-Singapore and vice versa by complying with the tight health protocol.

The cooperation was discussed in a virtual meeting of Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Singaporean Ambassador for Indonesia Anil Kumar Nayar, and Indonesian Ambassador for Singapore Suryopratomo on Friday.

The dreams of peace and democracy in Myanmar have yet to come true. After the coup by the military junta on 1 February, casualties on the part of civilians continued to fall. The country has yet to find a solution to the military-takeover of power. After the burning down of a number of factories which were Chinese investment, it seemed as if the military had the opportunity to impose a state of emergency in several places. Six cities since last Sunday have declared a state of emergency. The AFP news agency verified that during the demonstrations Sunday and Monday, dozens of people including women had died as a result of military fire.

Apparently, protesters set fire to the factories for accusing China of supporting Myanmar's military. It is possible that the arson and the accusations will disturb the government in Beijing. Previously, the Chinese government stated that it did not interfere with the political and social crisis in its neighboring country. Unlike the United States and several Western countries, China considers what is happening in Myanmar as a purely domestic matter. This is despite the fact that the UN Security Council has criticized the violence perpetrated by the military.

On the other hand, the condemnation and sanctions imposed by the United States and several other countries on Myanmar military officials, still have not shaken the ASEAN and its member countries in responding to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN, so far remains obedient to the commitment of non-interference   in the domestic affairs of its members. This may very well make the military feel comfortable. Myanmar is the last country to become a member of ASEAN because the association of Southeast Asian countries considers Myanmar to have become democratic.

This situation is expected to make the military continue to commit acts of violence against protesters who support Aung San Su Ky. Meanwhile, Aung San Su Ky was unable to act because she was in detention.

The country, which has begun to gain appreciation thanks to the realization of democracy some time ago, is now receiving attention and criticism due to violence by the military in forcing its power.

For its neighboring countries, what happened in Myanmar can certainly be a material for study and consideration on how to keep democracy growing, along with the steps to make people live in peace.