SBY on a train to Cirebon

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opted to leave his presidential plane behind and take a train to Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday, where he is due to officially close the 2012 National Ulema Gathering and the National Conference of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization.

The VIP train carrying President Yudhoyono, his wife Ani, and some Cabinet members, departed from Gambir Station in Jakarta at 3 p.m., heading the Kejaksaan Kota Station in Cirebon, about 284 km East of Jakarta, an approximately 4-hour trip.

Authorities have strengthened security measures in Cirebon since this morning.

Later on Sunday, President Yudhoyono will  address about 1,000 participants in the closing ceremony of the two two-day event, conducted at the Kempek Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School).

NU Chairman Said Aqil Siroj in his remarks said that the boarding school had been chosen to host the events to help NU members reflect the importance of the “pesantren spirit.”

“The spirit of the pesantren includes honesty, dedication, humbleness, cooperation, and togetherness,” Said said as quoted on the  Cabinet Secretariat’s official website www.setkab.go.id.

Yudhoyono also took the train to visit Cilacap, Central Java, in December 2011, for a two-day working visit that included laying the cornerstone of Pertamina's Resid Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) project and inaugurating the operation of three steam power plants.(iwa)