Thousands attend funeral of Cirebon Sultan

CIREBON, West Java: Thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession of late Kasepuhan Sultanate leader Sultan Sepuh XIII Maulana Pakuningrat at Sunan Gunung Jati cemetery on Saturday.

The mourners walked 7 kilometers to the cemetery.

Sultan Sepuh XIII, who took up the throne in 1969, died from lung failure on Friday afternoon at 3.30 p.m. at Pertamina Klayan Hospital.

He was 72 and is survived by his wife, Princess RA Irawati Pakuningrat, 63, five children and 15 grandchildren.

His five children are Prince Adipati Arief Natadiningrat, Princess Alexandra Wuryaningrat, Princess Gumiwang Kencananingrat, Prince Nisfudin Adiningrat and Prince PR Gumelar Soerjadiningrat.

Apart from palace officials, several officials from the Cirebon and West Java administrations were among those escorting the casket.

Prince Arief said Sultan Sepuh's condition had deteriorated in the past three years.

"He was hospitalized more frequently in the past year to undergo lung treatment," he said, adding that the deceased had requested before his death that Arief care for the poor and mosques. - JP