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Ambassador Wisnu Edi Pratignyo hands over credential letters to President of Namibia, Hage Gottfried Geingob

Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia, Wisnu Edi Pratignyo handed over credential letters to President of the Republic of Namibia, Hage Gottfried Geingob on Friday (27/11). According to the official statement of the Indonesian Embassy in Windhoek, a state  ceremony was held at the State House of Namibia and it was also witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of Foreign Affairs of Namibia, Netumbo-Nandi Ndaitwah. Ambassador Wisnu Edi Pratignyo at the event was accompanied by Protocol and Consular Function Official of the Indonesian Embassy Windhoek, Ahmad Mulia Karnida. During a tête-á-tête meeting with President Geingob, Ambassador Wisnu conveyed warm greetings from President Joko Widodo to President Geingob. He also conveyed Indonesia’s readiness to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries to a higher level in many  fields and to follow up on the results of President Geingob's visit to Indonesia in 2018.

On that occasion, President Geingob expressed his gratitude and high appreciation for the friendship, support and role of Indonesia so far as an important Namibian partner. President Geingob also affirmed the importance for Indonesia and Namibia to continuously support each other and strengthen bilateral cooperation in all sectors  which provide benefit for both countries. Besides the Indonesian Ambassador, on the same day, there were seven ambassadors from other countries who handed over their letters of credential to President Geingob, namely ambassadors of  French, Iran and several non-resident ambassadors such as Palestine, Niger, Sweden, Croatia and Rwanda.

The ceremony was carried out solemnly, orderly and smoothly by implementing the health protocols to prevent transmission of the Covid-19. Ambassador Wisnu Pratignyo is a career diplomat from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs who previously served at the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, Prague and Moscow  and served as Deputy Head of Representative at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, China and finally as the Consul General at the Indonesian Consulate General in Osaka, Japan.

Various innovations related to the Covid-19 pandemic were carried out by Indonesian students. Hand Sanitizer made from stale rice by students of Airlangga University -Unair is the theme of today’s Miscellany. Rice waste that has become stale can actually be used, which is used as a formula for making hand sanitizers. This was done by five students of the Unair Vocational Faculty. According to Yasmin Auliya Hylmi as the team leader, the bioethanol formula in the stale rice with the addition of basil leaf extract is effective at killing various microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, including the coronavirus.

This hand sanitizer has various advantages over the existing ones. The formula does not contain methanol so that it does not cause toxicity effects. The basic ingredients used are natural so they are easy to obtain and cheap because they are made from waste. In addition, the formula is efficient in use. This content acts not only as an antibacterial, but also as an antiviral and anti-fungal. In fact, the idea of utilizing rice waste arose because a lot of rice was wasted for free from food stalls. In addition, hand washing facilities in the pandemic era are still minimal.

For the extraction of basil leaves, according to Yasmin, it is carried out by using a maceration method. Maceration is the process of immersing a sample using organic solvents at room temperature. This hand sanitizer is called ‘Nasi Wangi Gel’. Even though it is made from stale rice, of course this formula has a fresh smell and has been proven to be effective at eliminating microbes.

Various interesting tourism objects are available in Kulonprogo, one of them is currently getting popular, namely Pronosutan View. This place is actually an ordinary rice field area consisting of many plots of rice fields owned by local residents and village officials. The enchantment of Pronosutan View lies on a concrete road that divides the rice fields, so it gives a unique impression. The expanse of rice fields seem like a huge stretch of green rugs. It is located about 20 kilometers from downtown of Yogyakarta.

There are various interesting tourism activities that you can do at Pronosutan View, especially taking selfie photos with a rice fields background. Taking pictures in the middle of the roads with rice fields seems like you are on green carpets stretching on the right and left sides. It is the most popular activity at Pronosutan View. You can bring your vehicles, such as motorcycle and bicycle to go around, but its is not allowed for cars. If you want to get around, you can also rent bicycle with Rp. 10,000 for the first hour, plus Rp. 5,000 for the next hours.

To get excellent photos with the stretches of green or yellowish rice, just come around in March, when the rice has started to turn yellow. This is one of the best moments with the yellowish rice color. After that, the second period from July to August when the rice has started to turn yellow. You will get sensation of this photo background during the time. Not only taking pictures and cycling, tourists also don't need to worry about being hungry when traveling to Pronosutan View. There are several foodstalls providing and selling typical foods and beverages, such as Geblek Pari Nanggulan, Banyu Bening Iwak Kalen, Kopi Klotok, and Kopi Ampirono.

After the sadistic beheading of teachers in France and the series of follow-up actions occurred last October, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to anticipate a recurrence of this incident so that it would not happen again. The French state service will monitor and control 16 mosques in Paris and other 60 outside the capital. Quoting the newspaper Le Figaro, some are being targeted for immediate action by the government, some of which are likely to be shut down. The move is included in a new draft law to prevent so-called Islamic separatism and reduce foreign influence on French Muslims. It is also possible to issue some kinds of certification for Imams who are deemed to have met the requirements. The French Home Minister, Darmanin has sent a circular to every governor in the area where the mosques are located. There are 43 mosques that have closed in the last three years since Emmanuel Macron's government came to power. Macron's concerns are the possibility of fanaticism and the proliferation of extremism in French mosques run by mosque imams. Will this be effective in overcoming this possibility? Is this step acceptable to the Muslim in France and doe not bring about negative responses from Muslim countries? Still, this needs to be proven.

The closure of the mosque and the certification of the Imam of the mosque are actually a series of steps that have been taken previously. At the end of September, President Emmanuel Macron invited the Grand Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz and the officials of the French Mosque Council to agree on steps to be taken, namely a special law to deal with Islamists (radicals) who seek to disobey the Government. To deal with this, it’s necessary to increase the number of moderate priests. One of them is through a vocational program equivalent to Diploma 3. The costs will be borne by the government. However, for a diploma, the graduates must be recognized as equivalent to a university diploma by the state. More technical discussions are continued in the next day's meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs, Gerald Darmanin, the Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister of Immigration. Another step that the French president  is preparing to tackle what he calls "Islamic separatism" in France, is to introduce new, broader laws. This law covers restrictions on house schools and the provision of harsher penalties for those who intimidate public officials using the pretext of religion. In addition to providing identification numbers to children to ensure they are in school, parents who violate the rules can be punished with a maximum prison sentence of six months and also a fine. In addition, there is a prohibition against providing personal information that allows someone to be tracked by those who want to threaten their safety. The bill will be discussed by the French cabinet on December 9.

Of course, the steps taken by the French government to overcome this extreme action have ignited a response from the Muslim community in France. However, as noted by Chems-Eddine Hafiz, vice president of the CFCM and leader of the great Parisian mosque, the current state of Islam in France is at a turning point and Muslims face responsibility for it. French imams have a duty to ensure Islam is not behind the extreme actions that have occured. The plan is that the CFCM will establish a registration for priests in France; each of whom will sign a Charter, before gaining accreditation.

Of course, each country has its own way of dealing with the possibility of extremist actions that threaten the safety and peace of its territory. However, the French government needs to be careful so as not to trgigger negative responses from existing Muslim countries.