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Jokowi won’t host Idul Fitri open house this year
To allow government officials to enjoy the first Idul Fitri holiday with loved ones without any health restrictions since the COVID-19 pandemic started, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he would not be holding an open house at the State Palace this year.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo greets people who queued since early morning at the National Monument (Monas) square in Central Jakarta to attend the President’s Idul Fitri open house event on June 5, 2019. (kompas.com/Fabian Januarius Kuwado)
T
o allow government officials to enjoy the first Idul Fitri holidays with loved ones without any health restrictions since the COVID-19 pandemic started, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he would not be holding an open house at the State Palace this year.
“[This year] I’m going to give [government officials] the chance to meet their families, their friends and their neighbors,” Jokowi told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Depok, West Java.
Despite this, Jokowi said he would not be going back to his hometown in Surakarta, Central Java, and would instead spend the holiday season at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and Bogor Palace in West Java.
Separately, Presidential Secretariat deputy for protocol, press and media Bey Machmudin said that Jokowi’s decision not to hold a presidential open house this year, despite it being the first Idul Fitri without any health restrictions, is geared to allow his staffers to spend the holidays back in their respective hometowns.
“The President has even asked to keep any activities throughout the mandatory leave days and Idul Fitri holidays to be as sparse as possible,” Bey said on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Keeping in line with the Idul Fitri spirit of silaturahmi (communal gatherings), the palace open house is a rare chance for many Indonesians to visit the President and many of the country’s top civil servants.
Read also: People throng to Jokowi’s Idul Fitri open house
