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Enthusiasm greets batik campaign in regions
Community members - including civil servants, private employees, journalists and students - wore batik on Friday to enthusiastically greet the National Batik Day that fell on Oct
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ommunity members - including civil servants, private employees, journalists and students - wore batik on Friday to enthusiastically greet the National Batik Day that fell on Oct. 2.
In South Sulawesi's Makassar, not only civil servants were seen wearing batik, but many other members of the public.
Based on The Jakarta Post's observations in Makassar on Friday, people were wearing batik in a number of government offices, private businesses and shopping malls.
A number of journalists were also wearing batik as they covered the news.
Many government agencies had reportedly issued a request for employees to wear batik, such as the PT Pertamina retail marketing unit in Makassar, the public works office and other government offices.
Asked for their comments, residents in Makassar said they wore batik to express their pride for their nation and culture, which they wished to preserve.
They also reported if UNESCO recognized Indonesian batik as a culture and not as an object, Indonesians would appreciate their heritage much more.
"It doesn't matter where batik came from," Makassar resident Akbar, 31, said.
"But batik is a symbol of our nation.
UNESCO has even recognized it as a defining aspect of our culture, so it's important we value it and take pride in wearing what defines part of our national identity."
An entrepreneur in Makassar, Muhammad Asril, 35, said he also supported establishing Oct. 2 as National Batik Day.
"It was only by chance I tuned into a news program on TV that reported the National Batik Day. I wanted to embrace it, so I wore a batik shirt today," he said.
Housewife Herlina, 30, and her 1-year-old daughter, who both wore batik dresses on the day, said, "Since batik has become Indonesia's national dress, I want my daughter to be familiar with it from a very young age."
To help promote batik in Makassar, a group held a fashion show at the Losari Beach.
The fashion show featured 10 male and female models wearing various batik designs and motifs, and distributed brochures to the public written with the words, "National Batik Day: Appreciate the national culture" to passersby.
In Banten, dozens of people marched across the city of Serang on Friday, to promote wearing batik among the public.
Riding bicycles, the marchers visited historical buildings, government offices and other institutions in and around the city during the campaign, as reported by Antara.
Prosecutors in Medan, North Sumatra, and other civil servants in many regencies across Java, were also seen wearing batik in their workplaces.
North Sumatra Prosecutor's Office spokesman Edi Irsan Kurniawan Tarigan told Antara wearing batik was a great initiative to consolidate a national dress for Indonesia, which had recently become internationally recognized.
"There was no special instruction given by the North Sumatra Chief Prosecutor for prosecutors to wear batik during the National Batik Day," he said.
"Employees wore it on their own accord, following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's suggestion."
