CORRECT VOTER LIST CRUCIAL FOR FAIR DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS by Fardah

  Jakarta, Sept 24, 2018 (Antara) - The campaign period kicked off in Indonesia, with the General Election Commission (KPU) organizing an event for the signing of a declaration pledging a peaceful campaign in Jakarta on September 23, 2018.

         The campaign period will last until April 13, 2019, for the presidential and legislative elections next year.

         The pledge to hold peaceful elections was declared by presidential hopefuls and their pairs, coalition parties' leaders, as well as legislative candidates simultaneously across Indonesia.

         Presidential and legislative elections will be organized directly, democratically, and simultaneously across Indonesia on April 17, 2019, which will be the fourth so far. Indonesia had, in fact, held its first elections since 1955, but it was not direct elections. 
    Next year's race will be a re-run of the bitter 2014 presidential election that showcased the country's divide, as Jokowi went head to head with Subianto.

         In the direct presidential election five years ago, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his running mate Jusuf Kalla had won 70,997,833 votes, or 53.15 percent of the total 133,574,277 valid votes, while their rivals Subianto-Hatta Rajasa secured 62,576,444 votes, or 46.85 percent.

         Jokowi has picked prominent ulema Ma'ruf Amin as his pair, while Prabowo Subianto has chosen successful and young businessman Sandiaga Uno as his running mate.

BIGGER DREAM FOR TOUR DE SIAK by Fardah

Jakarta, Sept 19, 2018 (Antara) - The Siak district administration is currently organizing the Sixth Tour de Siak on September 18-21, 2018, with more ambitious plans for the sport tourism event in the future.

          The ambition is supported by the fact that the 2.2 cycling race, featuring the Men Elite category, has been recognized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events.

          Hence, the Riau provincial government has proposed the inclusion of Tour de Siak into the Wonderful Indonesia calendar of events.

          Riau had three tourism events -- Bakar Tongkang in Rokan Hilir District, Pacu Jalur in Kuantan Singingi, and Bono Surfing in Pelalawan -- that have so far been included in the national tourism calendar of events, according to Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman.

          Another big plan for Tour de Siak is to extend its route up to Malacca, Malaysia.

          "Hopefully, next year, it would be materialized," the governor stated while expressing hope that in the long term, its route would also cover other regions in Riau.

          The Riau governor, accompanied by Siak District Head Syamsuar and Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Cyclist Association Beni Subaggia, officially kicked off the Tour de Siak, on the evening of Sept 17.

          Earlier on the same day, hundreds of people participated in a fun bike organized to highlight the implementation of Tour de Siak.

          "The fun bike is part of a series of activities to kick off Tour de Siak 2018. It is aimed at giving an opportunity to the public to participate," Wan Saiful Efendi, spokesman of the Siak district administration, remarked.

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.