TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesians pay their respects as Taufiq is laid to rest
Family, friends and fellow politicians paid their final respects to former People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Taufiq Kiemas on Sunday
Change Size
F
amily, friends and fellow politicians paid their final respects to former People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Taufiq Kiemas on Sunday.
A ceremonial funeral with full military honors was held at the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery at 11 a.m., which was attended by thousands of people including government officials, politicians, People's Consultative Assembly and House of Representatives' members and peers.
The coffin, which was draped with the Red and White flag, arrived at the cemetery by hearse and was welcomed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who led the funeral service. Taufiq's wife and Indonesia's fifth president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, the couple's daughter, Puan Maharani, and other family members walked behind the coffin.
The procession began with a reading of Taufiq's curriculum vitae.
'I, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, present the body, soul and service of the late MPR speaker, Taufiq Kiemas, to the motherland. Hopefully, he will receive a good place near to God,' said Yudhoyono in his remarks before the procession.
Around 500 police officers from the Jakarta Police's traffic division and the East Jakarta police were deployed to secure the funeral procession, said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr.Comr.Rikwanto as quoted by kompas.com.
Taufiq Kiemas died at the age of 70 at a hospital in Singapore at 7:05 p.m. local time on Saturday June 8. His body was flown from Singapore and arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday before being taken to the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery for the funeral. (fan/ebf)
