PROLONGED DROUGHT TRIGGERS FOREST FIRES IN KALIMANTAN AND JAVA by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 15, 2018 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has been working all out to prevent forest fires over the last couple of years and been successful in drastically reducing hotspots and fires, particularly in Sumatra.    
    Lately, however, the country has been experiencing severe dry season that has induced forest fires on the islands of Java, Kalimantan, and Sumatra.

         The ongoing prolonged drought has caused water shortage in several regions, such as in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Java, and triggered fires in forest areas, particularly in West Kalimantan and Central Java.  
    In West Kalimantan, schools were recently closed, as forest fires produced smoke that could affect the health of students.

         The national disaster mitigation office has deployed four helicopters to help extinguish the fires.

         In Central Kalimantan, the East Kotawaringin district police recently named four suspects in land and forest fires in several areas in the district.

         Chief of the East Kotawaringin District Police Adjunct Chief Commissioner Mohammad Rommel remarked on September 11, 2018, that the police had investigated the cases of land fires in Ujung Pandaran, Samuda, Baamang, and Mentawa Baru Ketapang.

         The police are also investigating the case of large land fires in Mentaya Hilir Selatan District, he noted.

         In South Kalimantan, the local inhabitants are optimistic of rain falling again to disperse the haze of the smoke that had begun to blanket some areas in the province.

         The people in Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru as well as the surrounding areas recently breathed a sigh of relief after rainfall, lasting for two hours, cleared the air of haze.

AFTER ASIAD, PENCAK SILAT EXPECTED INCLUSION INTO UNESCO ICH LIST by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 15, 2018 (Antara) - Indonesia has delivered its best-ever achievement in the Asian Games history by ranking fourth in the medal tally, with 31 gold medals, nearly half of them from the pencak silat martial art.

        Indonesia won 14 out of the total 16 gold medals up for grabs in pencak silat also participated in by Malaysia, Japan, Brunei Darussalam, India, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan in the 18th Asian Games co-hosted by the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2, 2018.

        Pencak silat debuted in the largest multi-sport event in Asia. This is because Indonesia had the privilege to propose pencak silat, its traditional martial art, in which it had hopes of winning gold. The country certainly did not miss the opportunity to make pencak silat as its "gold mine" in the Asiad.

        At the closing ceremony of the Asian Games 2018, dozens of performers, wearing white clothes and red headscarves, demonstrated the movements of pencak silat to spectators at the Bung Karno Main Stadium in Senayan, Jakarta.

        In the presence of rain that began in the afternoon, the performers displayed a variety of Indonesian martial arts movements, which included strikes, kicks, sweeping, and take down.

        Pencak silat is a traditional martial art that has played an important role since Indonesia's ancient history. West Sumatra and West Java are believed to be the origins of the sport, but it later spread across the country.

INDONESIA RECORDS TWO SUCCESSES IN ASIAN GAMES 2018 by Fardah

   Jakarta, Sept 13, 2018 (Antara) - Having a chance to host the Asian Games for the second time after waiting for over 50 years, Indonesia did not want to miss the opportunities to show the world that the nation is capable of successfully organizing the largest sporting event in Asia and upgrading its rank in the Asiad's medal table.

            Many international media as well as several world leaders lauded the smooth and well-organized implementation of the 18th Asian Games held simultaneously in two cities, namely in Jakarta on western Java Island and Palembang in South Sumatra, from Aug 18 to Sept 2, 2018.

         Headlines of major media on the Games read "Asian Games Stir Indonesia's Pride, Boost Jokowi's Campaign", "Indonesia proved their credibility with a successful show at Asian Games", "Games-Hosts Indonesia bid emotional farewell to 18th Asiad," and "Asian Games close: Indonesia shows it's the 'Energy of Asia'".

        Besides, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), during his state visit to South Korea on Sept 10,  received congratulations for successfully organizing the 2018 Asian Games.

        Ahmad Al Sabah Al Fahad, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), in his remarks during the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Jakarta on Sept 2, 2018, lauded the Indonesian Government for successful organization of the Games and, in particular, the country's security authorities for maintaining safety during the Games.

       "I especially convey my appreciation to the security and traffic police who have worked hard (to overcome traffic jams) enabling athletes to come to the venue on time," Al Fahad stated.

INDONESIA BRACES FOR PROLONGED DROUGHT by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 10, 2018 (Antara) - Hydro-meteorological disasters have over many years dominated natural disasters in Indonesia, which is often flooded during rainy season and very dry and even extremely dry in certain regions during dry season.

         Located on the equator line and between Asia and Australia, Indonesia has only two seasons -- rain and dry. The dry season is usually between March and September, while rainy season between September and March.

         September is usually transitional period where rains begin to fall across the country. But, up to September 10 this year, many regions remain very dry as rains have not come for months.  
   Currently, drought hits some regions in Indonesia, especially on the islands of Java and Nusa Tenggara. The drought hit 4,053 villages in 888 sub-districts located in 111 districts and cities in 11 provinces.

        Some 4.87 million people in the country are affected by this year's drought, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

        "The dry season is forecast to last until September 2018 and reach its peak during the August-September period. Those islands are hit by the drought almost every year," BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho noted on Sept 7, 2018.

        The drought has also affected the agriculture sector, as farmers had to spend additional funds of some Rp800 thousand to rent water pumps and buy diesel fuel to water their paddy fields.

         "Some farmers have modified their water pumps by replacing diesel oil with LPG and saved some Rp100 thousand to Rp150 thousand," he remarked.

INDONESIA GLORIOUS IN PENCAK SILAT DEBUT by Fardah

  Jakarta, Aug 28. 2018 (Antara) - Indonesia has clean swept all gold medals in eight finals of pencak silat, traditional martial arts originating from Indonesia, which is making its debut in the 18th Asian Games this year.

         The finals held in Pencak Silat Hall, which is located in the Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park (TMII), East Jakarta, on Aug 27, 2018, comprised women's individual arts, men's 85-90 kilograms, men's team arts, men's 50-55 kilograms class B, women's 50-55 kilograms class B, men's 55-60 kilograms class C, women's 55-60 kilograms class C, and men's 65-70 kilograms class E.

        Puspa Arumsari won the first gold medal for Indonesia in Pencak Silat in the 2018 Asian Games, after achieving the highest point in the women's single finals.

          Other Indonesian gold medalists include Yola Primadona Jampil and Hendy (in the men's doubles category), Nunu Nugraha, Asep Yuldan Sani, and Anggi Faisal Mubarok (in the men¿s arts team), Aji Bangkit Pamungkas (in the men¿s 85 kilograms), Adi Putra (in men's class E of 65-70 kilograms), Iqbal Candra Pratam (in men's D category of 60-65 kilograms), Sarah Tria Monita (in the women's C category of 55-60 kilograms), and Abdul Malik (in the men's B category of 50-55 kilograms).

         In one day, Aug 27, the national pencak silat athletes contributed eight gold medals, raising Indonesia¿s medal standings from rank fifth, with 14 gold medals on Aug 27 morning, to rank fourth, with 22 gold medals in the evening, beating Iran, which was previously in the fourth rank, in the Asian Games medal tally.

          Indonesia still has chances to win more gold medals in pencak silat in five final matches scheduled for Aug 28, also at Pencak Silat Hall, TMII, where Prabowo Subianto, chairman of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI), concurrently president of the International Pencak Silat Association (Persilat), is expected to be present during the matches. 
      ¿Alhamdulillah (Thank Allah), our athletes have made great achievements, thanks to their hard work. We are grateful that they could uphold the image of the nation," Subianto stated in Jakarta on Monday (Aug 27).

           Manager of Indonesia¿s pencak silat contingent, Edhy Prabowo, expressed his satisfaction over his team¿s achievement, which is double than the target set by IPSI as well as the government.

          ¿This is a surprise and is beyond our expectation. I thought we would have half of it, and another half tomorrow. But, Alhamdulillah, we have achieved it all already," Prabowo remarked.

         Since the beginning, Indonesia has been optimistic of winning gold medals in pencak silat in the eight finals of the Asian Games 2018.

         Indonesia's pencak silat athletes competing in the Asian Games 2018 are Komang Harik Adi Putra, Iqbal Candra Pratama, Abdul Malik, Wewey Wita, Pipiet Khamelia, Sarah Tria Monita, Hanifan Yudani Kusumah, and Aji Bangkit Pamungkas.

             Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Brunei Darussalam, India, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan are the 16 countries participating in pencak silat in the largest multi-sport event in Asia.

        Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has expressed his appreciation to the country's athletes for the remarkable achievement made so far in the current 18th Asian Games 2018.

             He wrote in his official Facebook account on Aug 27 evening that despite having still another week more for the Games to conclude, Indonesian athletes have been able to surpass the target of 16 gold medals.

            "Today, Indonesia has collected 22 gold, 15 silver, and 27 bronze medals," he noted.

             He added that most of the gold medals won on Monday were from pencak silat.

          "Most of the gold medals were won by pencak silat athletes at the Padepokan Pencak Silat Taman Mini Indonesia Indah venue today, reaching a total of eight medals," he noted.

         The president, in particular, expressed appreciation to a married couple who had contributed a gold medal each to the country.

         "Two gold medals were even won by Iqbal Candra Oratama and Sarah Tris Minifa, who are husband and wife. In addition, two gold medals were collected from men's and women's sport climbing event in Palembang," he remarked.

          He continued to motivate athletes to keep on fighting until the end of the Games to do their best for the country.

          "Efforts to collect medals must still continue. Our athletes will still fight at the sports venues to promote the name of the country," he pointed out.

         As of Aug 28 evening, Indonesia has achieved a total of 72 medals, comprising 24 gold medals, 19 silver medals, and 29 bronze medals, ranking fourth after China, Japan, and South Korea in the medal tally of the ongoing Asian Games.

          Being co-host by Jakarta and Palembang in South Sumatra Province from Aug 18 to Sept 2, 2018, the 18th Asian Games is being participated in by some 17 thousand athletes and officials from 45 member countries of Asia.  ***4***
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ASIAN GAMES TORCH RELAY COMPLETES 18 THOUSAND KM-LONG JOURNEY by Fardah

Jakarta, Aug 17, 2018 (Antara) - The Asian Games 2018 torch relay has finally completed its one-month-long journey covering a total distance of 18 thousand kilometers and touring 53 cities and districts in 18 provinces across Indonesia.

        Arriving in Jakarta on August 15, the torch was handed over to President Joko Widodo at Merdeka State Palace on Aug 17, coinciding with the celebration of the 73rd anniversary of Indonesia's independence.

       Flanked by Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi, the President ran for a short distance to welcome the torch as it entered the gate of the palace and accepted it from Verawati Fajrin, a badminton legend from the 1980s.

          Holding the torch in his right hand, President Jokowi, as he is also known, said, "I accept the torch to start the Asian Games 2018."
    Also flanked by a line of athletes, President Jokowi then ran with the torch to the front of the honorary stage at the palace.

         On the stage, he then handed over the torch to the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) chief, Erick Tohir.

          Tohir then ran with the torch out of the palace to the National Monument close to the palace where it will be kept for a night before it will be taken again and brought to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 18th Asian Games on August 18.