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Yudhoyono to skip Aug. 17 revelry in Nusantara, Megawati remains mum
As President Jokowi prepares to preside over the Independence Day celebrations in Nusantara on Aug. 17, it appears that the two living former presidents might not join him: Yudhoyono has begged off attending due to a prior engagement in his hometown while Megawati has not confirmed either way.
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Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Hadi Tjahjanto introduces the new presidential palace, Garuda Palace, during a press event on Aug. 7, 2024 in Nusantara, East Kalimantan. The newly built city is to host this year’s 79th Independence Day celebrations, which is slated to include its inauguration as the nation’s capital. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga )
F
ormer president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has confirmed he will not be attending the Aug. 17 celebrations in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, while his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri has neither accepted nor declined her invitation to the first Independence Day event to be held in the country’s future capital, according to their parties.
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is expected to lead the celebrations in Nusantara to mark Indonesia’s 79th Independence Day, his last as President. Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto is also slated to attend the celebratory events in the newly built city.
The President’s office previously said it would be inviting all living former presidents to attend the Independence Day bash in Nusantara, though it also noted that invitees had the option to attend the parallel ceremony in Jakarta.
Megawati ascended to the presidency in 2001 following the impeachment and removal of Abudrrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid from office and is the daughter of the country’s first president, Sukarno. Yudhoyono is the sixth president and the country’s first directly elected leader, who served two terms from 2004 to 2014.
Asked whether Yudhoyono would attend the ceremony in Nusantara or Jakarta, Andi Mallarangeng, secretary of the Democratic Party’s high council, said the party’s founder and former chair would celebrate Independence Day at a reunion with his Military Academy class in his hometown of Pacitan, East Java.
“The occasion has been planned for a long time, and it also coincides with the [first] anniversary of the opening of the SBY-Ani Museum and Gallery,” Andi said on Wednesday.
Read also: Jokowi to discuss transition to new government in first cabinet meeting in Nusantara
