SBY's 'open house' attracts thousands

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 10/01/2008 4:24 PM  |  National

Over a thousand people lined up in front of the State Palace in Jakarta to wish President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a happy Idul Fitri.

People arrived at the palace in the morning, waiting to enter. Palace officials then allowed the people to enter one by one to meet the President.

However, the palace was only open to the public from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The palace provided about 3,200 entrance tickets for people to enter the palace and meet with the President.

For the first batch in the morning, a group of blind people from a foundation in Depok, Bogor, were called in, followed by a group of disabled people from Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

Then, various groups of people from various walks of life were welcomed into the palace.

Sunardi, a Jakartan from Central Maluku, said he used the opportunity to meet the President to report illegal logging in Central Maluku.

"I brought all the documents with me," he told Antara news agency.

But palace officials told the guests to hand over all letters and documents to the officials in front of the State Palace before they met with the President.

However, there were people who handed over documents or letters directly to the President, who then handed them over to his aides.

The President was accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and their two sons, Agus Harimurti and Edhie Baskoro.  (rid)

 

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