VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

At Nansha Bird Park, about 70 km from the downtown of Guangzhou City, an Indonesian Pavilion was built. On Saturday, December 26, Indonesian Ambassador to China, Djauhari Oratmangun accompanied by the Indonesian Consul General in Guangzhou Gustanto, Nansha district officials, and the owner of the bird park inaugurated the Indonesian Pavilion. The inauguration of the Indonesian Pavilion is a beautiful gift, commemorating 70 years of Indonesia-China diplomatic relations. On that occasion, Ambassador Djauhari gave a souvenir in the form of civet coffee from Indonesia and a cover of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations to Nansha officials. The Consul for Social-Cultural Information at the Indonesian Consulate in Guangzhou, Kurniawan Wibowo explained that the Indonesian Pavilion has three floors, which are completely made of bamboo and built by 11 Balinese artists. Apart from the architectural design which is thick with the nuances of the archipelago, an interesting aspect of the 500 square meter building is the raw materials imported specifically from Yogyakarta and Bali.

The Indonesian Embassy in Tunis on 21st December appeared on the Watania1 Tunisian TV program with a cooking demonstration of Indonesian food, talk shows about bilateral relations between Indonesia and Tunisia, regional fashion shows, and dance performances. The activities on this program were broadcasted live on TV and could also be seen on the YouTube media channel. The cooking demonstration was carried out by the chef of Indonesia’s residence by presenting chicken satay, fried noodles and spring roll which were practiced directly in the studio accompanied by the TV station chef. This 2-hour TV program is part of a series of commemoration for the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Indonesia and Tunisia as well as diplomacy to introduce Indonesia more and improve Indonesia's positive image in Tunisia.

The number of Covid-19 cases that have spread in Indonesia since early March 2020 increases day by day. As of Sunday (27/12/2020), the number of positive cases of the Covid-19 increased by more than 6.500 cases in a day so that the total positive cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia reached more than 713 thousand.

The recent increase in positive cases of Covid-19 is partly due to the family cluster which began to appear in September 2020. This was said by a pulmonary specialist from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, dr. Anna Rozaliyani in Jakarta, Sunday (17/12). She reminded the public to be aware of the transmission of Covid-19 that occurs in the family cluster.

So far, people have considered family as a safe place from Covid-19 transmission. In fact, according to dr. Anna, the family environment also has a risk of transmitting Covid-19. Especially. if there are family members who are still working or doing oudoor activities and do not properly implement health protocols when outside or when returning home. She also stated that it was possible that family members could become "super spreaders'', or carriers of the virus and could infect many other family members without realizing that they had been infected with the Covid-19 virus.

Community activities due to economic factors and other reasons such as boredom or prolonged stress due to staying at home for too long cannot be avoided. People are getting bored at home. In addition, many of them still have to leave their homes because they need financial income to meet their daily needs. Restaurants, cinemas and tourism attractions have begun to open so that the economy can run, even with strict health protocols. Especially towards the end of the year holidays, some people feel they need refreshment and local governments and entertainment and tourism businesses need income to survive from the Covid-19  pandemic.

It is a dilemma. On the one hand, people must get healthy and avoid this deadly virus by limiting social and economic movements. On other hand, people also need income to survive.

The increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia in the family cluster, requires people to adhere to health protocols properly and be disciplined. Do not let someone come home with the virus and consider themselves healthy because they do not feel symptoms so that they eventually infect other family members. People’s compliance and discipline must be improved. It is not easy to do this, because there are still many who ignore it and think that the Covid-19 virus does not exist.

In addition to adhering to and being disciplined in health protocols, the public must also increase the body's immunity with a good diet or nutritional intake, sunbathing and exercising.

The atmosphere of Christmas celebrations in Southern England amid the outbreak of the new Corona variant which is said to originate from the region is really hard to imagine. Although there is no official data on whether the British variant corona is more dangerous than the Covid-19, its contagious power has proven to be devastating. Today, more than 1.000 people in Southern England have been infected. In fact, it is said that the anxiety about this new Corona strain has started spreading to the USA.  The Christmas celebration this time feels different, because people choose to stay at home due to the new virus. The probability of this virus entering the United States is a prediction from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The new Covid-19 variant, named SARS-CoV-2, is even said to have spread to Africa with temporary findings attacking young people there. But it has not been proven whether Sars-Cov-2 is more deadly or not. However, the spreading power is said to be very fast. On Thursday (24/12), the virus was found in Singapore.

To anticipate the spread of Coronavirus, whether the Covid-19 or Sars-Cov-2, the Indonesian government also urges people not to travel far and stay at home during the holidays and celebrations of Christmas and New Year 2012.

Various countries have now started vaccinating their citizens. It is hoped that this vaccine will later be able to overcome the Covid-19, including the various possibilities for the emergence of other new variants such as Sars-Cov-2.

It seems that this Christmas 2020 celebration must indeed be passed with deeper prayers and hope so that this deadly virus shakes off from the earth.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurated the first operation of Patimban Seaport in Subang, West Java. He joined the inauguration virtually from the Bogor Palace, West Java on Sunday (20/12). In his remarks, he hopes that the Patimban Seaport will strengthen Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta that has been crowded and causing traffic jams across Bekasi-Jakarta road.

President further remarked that the Patimban Seaport has strategic location between Kertajati Airport and the industrial complexes in Bekasi, Karawang, and Purwakarta. He believes that Patimban Seaport will be the key inter-regional link and support export acceleration.

Meanwhile, the West Java Provincial Government hopes that the first stage operational of Patimban Seaport will be the pioneer of Patimban city of seaport and industry. That was stated by Governor of West Java,  Ridwan Kamil in his remark at the Patimban Seaport inauguration. He further said that Patimban will be developed into a maritime city. Patimban will also be the pioneer of the Rebana metropolitan area which consists of 13 new industrial cities. The Rebana Triangle consists of Subang, Cirebon, and Majalengka. The maritime industrial city development is predicted to take 30 years until the city is perfectly built. This prediction was based on the success of the Bekasi industrial area.

Governor Ridwan also predicted if the Rebana metropolitan area is successful, there would be 4.3 million jobs in the next 15 years. This area is then expected to contribute economic growth upto 4 percent for West Java.

In the inauguration of Patimban Seaport, President Joko Widodo also witnessed virtually the inaugural export which marked the first operation of Patimban International Seaport in Subang, West Java. It was an export of 140 vehicle units of various brands such as Toyota, Daihatsu, and Suzuki which were carried by MV Suzuka Express bound to Brunei Darussalam. 

On the occasion, the president said that for automotive products, the Patimban Seaport has a great export capacity. However, he also reminded that the Patimban Seaport must also support the export of other products that move the economy. It includes the products of micro small medium enterprises, agriculture, creative industries, and others. This aims to make these products compete in the global market.