Everyone Must Visit Indonesia:
French Journalists
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As many as 16 French
journalists visited Jakarta, Thousand Islands, Bandung and Bali from April 29
to May 6, 2016. Accompanying the journalists was Country Manager Visit
Indonesia Tourism Officer (VITO) Eka Moncarre and Indonesian Embassy staff
Esther Polhaupessy.
Eka Moncarre said that the trip was arranged so that
French journalists would publish their experience when visiting Indonesia in
magazines, newspapers and other forms of publication.
Anna David with Courrier de Gironde, Bordeaux,
said that Indonesia was a contrast and constant country.
"I'm very lucky to have a chance to visit Bandung
with diverse and friendly people," she said.
According to Anna, Jakarta is a fast growing
metropolitan city, while Bali with its temples and rice fields managed to
captivate the participants
"One thing for sure, everyone must visit
Indonesia," Anna suggested.
Another journalist Evelyne Dreyfus with "Tout
pour les femmes" and JFM Radio said that Indonesia had
extensive territories with diverse ethnicities. Everyline admitted that not
only she enjoyed the trip, but also she learned about humanity and sociology.
"Indonesian
tourism must be protected so that it would not be harmed by mass tourism,"
Evelyne added.
Nia Niscaya, director of tourism market development
for Europe, Middle East, United States and Africa at the Tourism Ministry, said
that the trip was a part of the strategy to boost the number of French tourists
visiting Indonesia. Nia revealed that the Ministry had worked with the
Indonesian Embassy in Paris to participate in tourism fairs in France and
opened VITO representative office in Paris.
This year, it is expected that the tourism sector will
attract 12 million foreign tourists and contribute US$12.7 billion to the state
income. In addition to promoting Wonderful Indonesia to 11 priority countries,
Indonesia would also approach the country through culinary, Nia explained.
The Tourism Ministry has set a target to attract as
many as 250,000 French tourists to visit Indonesia this year, which is higher
than last year's target at 210,000 tourists.
Answer :
1.
"Indonesian tourism must be
protected so that it would not be harmed by mass tourism," Evelyne added.
( Past Future Tense)
A world on fire
Until
politicians call a halt, Indonesia’s forests will keep burning
Feb 27th
2016
IT WAS ONE of the most important trips of his young
presidency. Last October Jokowi and a bevy of advisers and businesspeople went
to Washington, DC, to meet Barack Obama. They were due to go on to Silicon
Valley to show off Indonesia’s burgeoning startups. But as his team flew west,
Jokowi flew east, summoned home by a crisis: Kalimantan and Sumatra were blanketed by the haze of hundreds of
thousands of fires.
Such fires rage every year, but in 2015 a dry spell caused by the El Niño weather
pattern made them especially severe. Smoke settled over Singapore for
months and even reached Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. At least 2m
hectares of forest were burned. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of
thousands sickened. For much of last October greenhouse gases released by those
fires exceeded the emissions of the entire American economy. The losses over
five months of fires amounted to around 2% of the country’s GDP.
Last year was worse than usual, but only in degree,
not in kind. Between 2001 and 2014 the country lost 18.5m hectares of tree
cover—an area more than twice the size of Ireland. In 2014 Indonesia overtook
Brazil to become the world’s biggest deforester.
One of the reasons for those forest fires is economic.
The country produces well over half the world’s palm oil, a commodity used in
cooking and cosmetics, as a food additive and as a biofuel. It accounts for
around 4.5% of Indonesia’s GDP, and demand is still rising. To meet it,
Indonesian farmers set fires to clear forest and make way for new plantations.
Often these forests grow on peatlands, which store carbon from decayed organic
matter; in tropical regions these hold up to ten times as much carbon as
surface soil. Draining peatlands releases all of that carbon. The peat also
becomes a fuel, so it is not just felled trees that are burning but the ground
itself.
But politics also plays a part. The government’s
response to last autumn’s haze was no better than it had been under Jokowi’s
predecessors. The president declared a moratorium on peatland-development
licences and called for peat forests to be restored, even as his agriculture
minister pointed out that burned peatland can be used for corn and soyabean
planting. Neither set of comments made any discernible difference on the ground
in Sumatra and Kalimantan. To cap it all, Jusuf Kalla, the vice-president, came
up with a creative response to Singapore’s complaints about the air pollution:
“For 11 months our neighbours enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never
thanked us.” Fortunately for Indonesia (and the planet) the rainy season put an
end to the mayhem in late October.
Answer :
2.
Kalimantan and Sumatra were
blanketed by the haze of hundreds of thousands of fires. (Simple Past Tense)
3.
a dry spell caused by the El Niño
weather pattern made them especially severe. ( Simple Present Tense)
Indonesia
accepts FIFA ban on national coach
Aji Santoso:
(Tribunnews.com)
Indonesia coach Aji Santoso has been banned for four
games and fined by FIFA for accusing match officials of taking bribes during a
10-0 loss to Bahrain in World Cup qualifying [1].
The
Indonesian Football Association and Santoso said on Wednesday they accepted the
punishments but didn't rule out an appeal. Santoso, now coaching the national
under-23 side, was fined $6,530.
Santoso was red-carded by Lebanese referee Andre Al
Haddad in the 75th minute of February's match in Manama following allegations
he accused Al Haddad of being bribed [2].
FIFA said Santoso told the officials “(there is) money
involved (here).” [3].
In the
second minute, Al Haddad sent off Indonesia's goalkeeper and awarded four
penalties to Bahrain, which needed to make up a nine-goal deficit on Qatar to
have a chance of advancing to the next round.
However,
Qatar drew 2-2 with Iran, and those two advanced.
FIFA called
the outcome "unusual" and launched an investigation.
Indonesia
was warned by FIFA before the match to send its strongest team, but an
inexperienced team was selected after Indonesia suspended players from clubs in
the breakaway Indonesian Super League.
Edi Ellison,
the spokesman for the Indonesian association, said they will wait to decide on
an appeal after the result of FIFA's probe.
Because of
the loss to Bahrain and the breakaway league, the government was planning to
cut funding to the association.
Answer :
4.
Indonesia coach Aji Santoso has been
banned for four games and fined by FIFA for accusing match officials of taking
bribes during a 10-0 loss to Bahrain in World Cup qualifying (Present Perfect)
5.
Santoso was red-carded by Lebanese
referee Andre Al Haddad in the 75th minute of February's match in Manama
following allegations he accused Al Haddad of being bribed.( Simple Past)
6.
FIFA said Santoso told the officials
“(there is) money involved (here). (Simple Present)
An introduction to the cultural
variety of Indonesia
The range of religions practised in Indonesia is
diverse, although around 90% of Indonesians identify themselves as being
Muslim, the largest Muslim population of any country in the world. There are six religions recognised by the
government - Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and
Confucianism - meaning citizens must identify themselves as belonging to
one of these on official identity documents. The Indonesian constitution or
state philosophy, Pancasila, provides freedom of religion, although
religions other than the official six are considered beliefs and are not
legally practised. Nor is atheism recognised, and blasphemy can lead to
imprisonment.
The Islam practised in Indonesia is
predominantly of the Sunni tradition, and is more concentrated in areas
including Java and Sumatra. Those who adhere to the Shi’a tradition number
around one million. Despite a large percentage of the population following
Islam, Indonesia is not an Islamic state, although some groups have called for
this over the decades.
Protestantism is more concentrated in the provinces of Papua and
North Sulawesi, whilst most of the population of the island of Flores are Roman Catholic. Buddhism
is mostly practised around Jakarta, by Chinese and some indigenous Javanese
peoples. Hinduism meanwhile,
known formally as Agama Hindu Dharma and followed by most of the
population of Bali, differs somewhat from the Hinduism practised in other
countries in that the caste system isn’t applied. The sixth religion
mentioned, Confucianism, has had a changing position in Indonesian
religions, losing its official status in 1978, to then have it reinstated from
2000 onwards.
Other religions in addition to those officially
recognised are practised around Indonesia, but citizens must affiliate
themselves to one of the six on identity cards etc. There is a small Jewish
community, and Animism and Kebatinan are also practised. The
constitution gives freedom of worship according to religious belief, although
the first principle of Pancasila, the Indonesian state philosophy, is of the
belief in one supreme God.
Answer :
7.
Buddhism is mostly practised around Jakarta,
by Chinese and some indigenous Javanese peoples (Simple Present Tense)
8.
Hinduism meanwhile, known formally as Agama
Hindu Dharma and followed by most of the population of Bali, differs
somewhat from the Hinduism practised in other countries in that the caste
system isn’t applied (Simple Present Tense)