VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Entering the days at the beginning of 2021, the Corona Covid-19 virus continues to spread. Governments whose countries have been hit by the pandemic are busy working hard to overcome it. Data from Worldometers shows that throughout the world there is still an increase in the spread of Corona Covid19 virus and the number of infected humans. The latest data from Wikipedia records that the number of infected victims has reached 86.2 million, 1.87 million died and 48.4 million people were declared cured.

Other data shows that the spread of Corona Covid-19 virus on the African continent is recorded very little compared to western European countries, Russia, the United States, Latin America and Asia. Globally, the United States is the country with the highest positive confirmation of Corona Covid19, which has reached over 20.5 million people. In second place, India, with the infection rate reaching more than 10 million people. The third country that recorded the most cases of both infections and the increase per day is Brazil, followed by Russia and France. Compared to the population in the United States, India, Brazil and Russia, France is actually a country in the Western European region which is badly hit. The continuing increase in the number of infected has prompted the concerned government to continue to work hard to overcome this global pandemic. Meanwhile, Britain, which is close to France, has returned to lockdown due to the discovery of a new virus variant which is said to be spreading much faster than Covid-19.

It cannot be denied, the Corona Covid-19 virus pandemic has had a very massive impact, especially economically. A large number of infected countries are now mobilizing their financial resources to tackle it. The amount spent on prevention, treatment and the purchase of vaccines to prevent Covid 19 in 2021 is not small.

Countries that can handle Covid-19 well can be said to be lucky. China, for example, was the first country hit by Covid 19. Now, despite still keeping its vigilance, the country is no longer as busy as other large countries that are ranked high in Covid 19 infection. China has even been able to not only produce vaccines, but also export them to various countries including Indonesia.

China's success is actually interesting to be used as a lesson in making policies in overcoming Covid-19. One of the most populous countries in the world, China has been able to successfully overcome Corona Covid-19, even rise economically and produce vaccines that are used by other countries.

Indonesian Embassy in Beijing opens Indonesian language class for special interest

The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, China has opened online Indonesian language classes, particularly for business, correspondence and translation. The Education and Cultural Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, Yaya Sutarya stated on Monday (04/1) that the registration will be opened in the fourth week of January 2021.   As Javanese and Sundanese language classes were opened in 2020, the special interest for Indonesian language is also for students or university students majoring in Indonesian language in China.

Yaya Sutarya further explained that each special interest program will be opened for three classes. So, there are nine classes for business, correspondence and translation and each class consists of only for 20 people.  Moreover, he also noted that there are requirements for this special interest program. The requirements are that all participants must pass level IV of Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers (BIPA). For business programs, one package is for 150 hours, correspondence for 120 hours, and translation for 150 hours.  Therefore, the special interest language class will be held for 9 and half months starting from January. This program is free of charger which is aimed at strengthening Indonesian diplomacy in China.

The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing collaborates with the Language Development Agency of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia and Yogyakarta State University in implementing the program. Yaya Sutarya hopes that this activity will be a stimulus for several Chinese universities which have Indonesian language departments to hold the special programs. The opening of interest classes is due to  the high interest of students of Indonesian language in China to join online classes in Javanese and Sundanese traditional languages at the end of 2020.

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the radio. We introduce some Indonesian vocabulary and tips on how to use it in a conversation. This segment 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 Bagaimana Keadaanmu? which means How are You?

Read to this conversation about Bagaimana Keadaanmu? which means How are You?

Kevin is sick. He did not go to college for three days. Kevin’s classmates come to visit Kevin, bringing him fruit and praying for his speedy recovery.

Pre-recorded:

Now, I am going to introduce some vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today.

In the dialog, there is a sentence Aku sudah lebih sehat dari pada sebelumnya (2x) which means I feel better than before. The form feel better than before (2x) is a comparative form to compare two things. In the dialog, Kevin compares his condition before and after sickness.

For example:

Mangga ini lebih besar dari pada mangga milikmu. (2x) which means this mango is bigger than yours.

Tas ini lebih bagus daripada tas sebelumnya. (2x) which means this bag is better than the old one.

Besides using lebih … daripada (2x) which means more .... than, the comparative sentence can also use kurang … daripada (2x) which means less .... than.

For example:

Kevin  :  Wah, tasmu baru. (2x) which means Wow, your bag is new.

Rio     :  Iya, tas ini lebih bagus daripada tas sebelumnya. (2x) which means Yes, this bag is better than the old one.

Kevin  : Rio, ini makananmu. (2x) which means Rio, here is your food.

Rio     : Wah, makanan kurang banyak daripada sebelumnya. (2x) which means this food portion is less bigger than before.

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian”, a lesson in Bahasa Indonesia or the Indonesian language on the radio. Hopefully, this edition will be useful for those who want to know more about Bahasa Indonesia. 

The trade value of Indonesia and Cuba increased by more than 870 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. The Indonesian Embassy in Havana, through a press release in Jakarta, Thursday (31/12), stated that the total trade between Indonesia and Cuba in 2020 reached US $ 54.9 million. This is a sharp increase compared to 2019 which only reached US $ 6.3 million. This increase was supported by the export of several Indonesian products to Cuba, including margarine, textiles, shoes, paper, soap and tires.

Indonesian Ambassador to Cuba, Nana Yuliana said that the opportunity for Indonesia to send more goods to Cuba was still wide open, given the high demand and need from local people. Therefore, Indonesia and Cuba are expected to enhance bilateral relations in a more strategic direction in 2021. For that matter, bilateral relations of both countries in the fields of medicine, education, economy, trade and sports will continue to be strengthened.

Indonesia also hopes that the relationship between Cuba and the United States can improve so that the Cuban economy can develop and there are many opportunities for open economic and trade cooperation. According to Ambassador Nana, the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States gave hope to US-Cuba relations so that the Cuban economy would become better and more open, which could provide an opportunity for Indonesia to enter the Cuban market. The Indonesian Embassy emphasized that Indonesia is always consistent in encouraging countries to lift sanctions and economic blockades against Cuba in international forums. She also conveyed some of her hopes regarding strengthening relations between Indonesia and Cuba in 2021.

On one hand, both countries are expected to  immediately finish discussing the diplomatic and service visa-free agreement, and encouraging cooperation in the field of biotechnology, especially in dealing with the threat of a health crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, there is a need to promote Indonesia more intensely through a people-to-people contact approach by creating an Indonesia digital corner on Cuban campuses for millennial groups in addition to sports cooperation between Indonesia and Cuba.